State v. Fugate, 2014 Ohio 415

Fugate was charged with one count of forgery (uttering) after signing Combs's name to a handwritten quitclaim deed and filing it to halt demolition of 30 S. Iona Street, a property in Jefferson Township.
Ney, Jefferson Township's zoning administrator, began nuisance abatement on the house and determined the owner was Billy Ray Combs, who had moved away; Ney posted demolition notices in July and August 2011.
Fugate expressed interest in taking possession and repairing the property, claiming authorization or intent to purchase; Ney required a document transferring ownership from Combs to Fugate to stop abatement.
A handwritten quitclaim deed transferring title from Combs to Fugate, signed by both parties, was later filed December 29, 2011, stopping demolition.
Combs had moved to Kentucky and later died in February 2012; Det. Conley investigated and Fugate admitted signing Combs's name to the deed.
Fugate was tried in a one-day bench trial, found guilty, and sentenced to five years of community control; he timely appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Fugate's counsel failed to call witnesses to support authorization defense.	Counsel's failure to call witnesses was ineffective assistance.	No, trial counsel's strategic choice not to call witnesses was reasonable.
Sufficiency of evidence	State presented sufficient evidence Fugate knowingly intended to defraud by signing Combs's name.	No evidence of intent to defraud; lack of knowing wrongdoing.	Yes, evidence supports guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Strickland, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (establishes two-prong standard for ineffective assistance)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (1989) (adopts Strickland standard in Ohio)
State v. Brown, 38 Ohio St.3d 305 (1988) (trial strategy protections in evaluating counsel performance)
State v. Were, 118 Ohio St.3d 448 (2008) (deference to counsel's strategic decisions)
State v. Treesh, 90 Ohio St.3d 460 (2001) (trial strategy generally not to be second-guessed)
State v. Murphy, 91 Ohio St.3d 516 (2001) (trial tactic choices protected as reasonable strategy)
State v. Cook, 65 Ohio St.3d 516 (1992) (deference to strategic decisions in counsel's conduct)
State v. Johnson, 56 Ohio St.2d 35 (1978) (intent and consequences of deliberate acts presumed)
State v. Lott, 51 Ohio St.3d 160 (1990) (intent inferred from surrounding facts and circumstances)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (standard for sufficiency review: rational trier could find elements beyond reasonable doubt)
State v. Roe, 41 Ohio St.3d 18 (1989) (plain-error review when Crim.R. 29 is not invoked)