State v. Hale, 2012 Ohio 2662

Hale was convicted by a jury of two counts each of Rape, Gross Sexual Imposition, Sexual Battery, and Sexual Imposition, plus two counts of Corrupting Another With Drugs; Sexual Battery counts merged with Rape.
He was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to life.
State appeals raising three assignments of error: sufficiency of the evidence, weight of the evidence, and merger/sentencing under R.C. 2941.25.
State argued the evidence was legally sufficient despite uncorroborated victim accusations.
Appellate court addressed standards of review for sufficiency, weight, and allied-offense merger; upheld the convictions and sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence	State contends evidence sufficed to prove elements.	Hale claims State failed to prove essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt.	Overruled; evidence sufficient.
Weight of the evidence	State argues uncorroborated testimony supported convictions.	Hale says evidence unpersuasive and not preponderant.	Overruled; evidence capable of sustaining belief.
Merge of counts under R.C. 2941.25	State contends no required merger; multiple offenses may be separately punished.	Hale argues counts must merge as allied offenses.	Overruled; merger not compelled; convictions affirmed.

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (defines sufficiency standard)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (defines weight of the evidence standard)
State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153 (Ohio 2010) (allied offenses merger framework)
State v. Whitfield, 124 Ohio St.3d 319 (Ohio 2010) (merger when offenses share same conduct and animus)