State v. Feller, 2012 Ohio 6016

Feller was convicted of felonious assault in B-1002708-B and, while released on bond, committed acts leading to two reckless-homicide charges and a having-a-weapon-while-under-a-disability charge in B-1105258; Svajda, pregnant, died from a gunshot fired during the incident.
Evidence showed Feller, intoxicated, attempted to repair a handgun and ignored friends’ safety requests, resulting in Svajda’s death and the unborn child’s death.
Two reckless-homicide convictions were based on causing death and on unlawful termination of pregnancy; the state proved reckless behavior by continuing to tinker with a loaded weapon.
The trial court sentenced Feller in B-1105258 while B-1002708-B sentencing occurred later; the court later corrected a sentencing error related to consecutive sentencing.
The court ultimately affirmed the convictions, modified the felonious assault sentence in B-1002708-B, and vacated the consecutive-sentence linkage that was tied to an undetermined later-imposed sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Speedy trial timing for the Svajda reckess-homicide charge	Feller urged rapid-trial timing based on earlier indictments	Nefarious; pleas timed under 2945.71 period	Speedy trial met under 2945.71; assignment overruled
Right to demonstrate movements with a gun in court	Denied demonstration prejudiced defense	Trial court properly exercised discretion to ensure safety	No abuse of discretion; assignment overruled
Jury instruction on knowledge of indictment for having weapon under disability	State must prove knowledge of indictment	No mental-state required for indictment element	Johnson controls; no proof of knowledge required; instruction proper
Prosecutorial misconduct during voir dire	Prosecutor’s questions improper to inflame community sentiments	Line of questioning proper to illustrate fairness	No reversible error; assignment overruled
Sufficiency and weight of reckless-homicide convictions (two counts)	Evidence showed recklessness beyond reasonable doubt	Defendant claimed accident; credibility issues	Convictions supported by sufficient evidence and not against the weight; not reversed

State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 107 (2010-Ohio-6301) (mental-state requirement for under-disability weapon offense limited to possession/use; indeterminate knowledge of indictment not required for conviction)
State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d 521 (1992) (precludes reading additional mental state into the 'under a disability' element when disability arises from prior offense)
State v. Brewster, 2004-Ohio-2993 (2004) (trial court broad discretion in courtroom control and evidentiary rulings)
State v. Andrews, 2012-Ohio-4664 (2012) (pre-sentence withdrawal of plea not guaranteed; abuse of discretion standard)
State v. White, 18 Ohio St.3d 340 (1985) (consecutive sentences not based on an undetermined later-imposed sentence)