State v. Graves, 2016 Ohio 7303

In 2015 Hugh Graves was charged with improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle (R.C. 2923.16) and having weapons while under disability (R.C. 2923.13).
Trooper Kay responded to a single-car crash; Graves was unconscious in the driver’s seat of a rental Nissan. An operable, loaded semiautomatic pistol was recovered on the driver’s side floorboard near Graves’s feet.
Graves stipulated he was under indictment for a felony of violence and had a prior felony drug conviction. He and a passenger (Santiago) testified Graves did not know about the gun and could not recall the crash.
The trial court (bench trial) found Graves guilty of both counts, sentenced him to two years of community control, and imposed court costs.
On appeal Graves raised (1) ineffective assistance for failure to move to waive court costs/file affidavit of indigency, (2) insufficiency of the evidence, and (3) prosecutorial misconduct for eliciting testimony about an unadjudicated prior indictment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance re: court costs	Counsel was not deficient; court costs are mandatory under R.C. 2947.23 and counsel informed court of indigency	Counsel was ineffective for not filing affidavit of indigency/moving to waive costs	No ineffective assistance: court may assess costs against indigent defendants; no reasonable probability costs would be waived
Sufficiency of evidence for possession/offense elements	Firearm found at driver’s feet, loaded and operable, plus Graves’ stipulations to disability status satisfied elements	Graves lacked knowledge/constructive possession because he was unconscious and denied knowing about the gun	Evidence sufficient: viewed favorably to State, a rational trier of fact could find elements proven beyond reasonable doubt
Prosecutorial misconduct—reference to prior indictment	Any questioning about the prior accusation did not deprive Graves of a fair trial	Cross-examination introduced inadmissible evidence of unconvicted indictment causing prejudice	No plain error: bench trial presumed to rely only on competent evidence; no showing trial court relied on the unadjudicated accusation
Imposition of court costs despite indigency	State: R.C. 2947.23 requires costs be included in sentence	Defendant: court should have waived costs if indigent; counsel should have sought waiver	Court properly imposed costs; indigency irrelevant to mandatory assessment; no prejudice from counsel’s inaction

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance standard)
State v. White, 103 Ohio St.3d 580 (trial court may assess court costs against an indigent defendant)
State v. Clevenger, 114 Ohio St.3d 258 (defendant’s financial status irrelevant to imposition of court costs)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (standard for sufficiency review)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (discussion of sufficiency vs. manifest weight)
State v. Long, 53 Ohio St.2d 91 (plain-error review caution)
State v. Eley, 77 Ohio St.3d 174 (presumption that a trial court in a bench trial relies only on competent evidence)