2018 Ohio 5156
Ohio Ct. App.2018Background
- Anika George was indicted and tried with Andre Boynton for extensive sexual abuse, photographing/videotaping five minors and elderly nursing-home patients; jury convicted George on 117 counts.
- Charges arose from conduct between July 2014 and George's August 5, 2014 arrest; a second, superseding 150-count indictment was returned February 18, 2016 after additional electronic evidence was discovered.
- George spent long periods incarcerated and underwent multiple competency evaluations and inpatient treatment; she repeatedly refused to cooperate with appointed counsel, caused continuances, and was disruptive at hearings and trial.
- The trial included prison telephone recordings and GTL call records introduced via a Marion corrections investigator who retrieved and burned discs from the GTL system.
- At sentencing the court imposed consecutive prison terms (life with parole possible after 139 years), finding consecutive terms necessary, not disproportionate, and that multiple offenses constituted a single course of conduct causing unusually great harm.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speedy-trial violation (R.C. 2945.71) | State: speedy time tolled by defendant-requested continuances, competency proceedings, discovery issues, and defendant's noncooperation | George: time ran from initial indictment and subsequent superseding indictment should not restart the clock; overall delay violated speedy-trial statute | No violation: court found tolling valid (defense continuances, competency orders, discovery nonresponses); applied Baker (new evidence justified new indictment) |
| Ineffective assistance for failure to move to sever | State: joinder proper (same course of criminal conduct); severance motion would have been futile given strong independent evidence against George | George: as trial progressed joinder became prejudicial and counsel should have sought severance | No ineffective assistance: joinder permissible under Crim.R. 8; counsel not required to file futile motion; no reasonable probability of different outcome |
| Admission/authentication of prison calls and records; Confrontation Clause | State: GTL records qualify as business records; witness (Marion investigator) was a qualified custodian to authenticate and play recordings | George: records are hearsay and unauthenticated; admission violated confrontation and Evid.R. 803 | Admissible: trial court properly admitted records under Evid.R. 803(6); investigator was a qualified witness; confrontation claim fails |
| Consecutive sentences; statutory findings under R.C. 2929.14(C)(4) | State: court made required findings—necessary to protect public, not disproportionate, and statutory subsection (harm so great as to require multiple terms) | George: trial court failed to make proportionality finding on the record even though the journal entry included it | Affirmed: sentencing transcript shows the court addressed proportionality, danger to public, and one statutory subsection; findings sufficiently on the record |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-prong ineffective-assistance standard)
- State v. Baker, 78 Ohio St.3d 108, 676 N.E.2d 883 (a later indictment based on new facts may restart speedy-trial computation)
- State v. Palmer, 84 Ohio St.3d 103, 702 N.E.2d 72 (competency proceedings toll speedy-trial time)
- State v. Bonnell, 140 Ohio St.3d 209, 16 N.E.3d 659 (court must make required consecutive-sentence findings on the record; talismanic words not required)
- Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 450 N.E.2d 1140 (abuse-of-discretion standard explained)