State v. Hamilton, 2017 Ohio 8140

Background

Police received an anonymous/dispatch tip about a silver SUV engaged in drug activity; officers located the SUV, which had heavily tinted windows, and stopped it.
Jamar Hamilton was a passenger; he exited the vehicle as officers initiated the stop. Officers observed loose marijuana in the car, searched it, and found a cereal box containing ~500 grams of heroin in a diaper bag; Hamilton had $6,700 on him.
Hamilton and the driver, Lynetta Pitts, were arrested; Hamilton was later connected to a Colerain Avenue apartment (key matched) where officers found a handgun and documents; Hamilton’s DNA was on the cereal box and heroin bag.
Hamilton was indicted on trafficking and possession (first-degree felonies with major-drug-offender specs), weapons-under-disability counts, and tampering with evidence among others; some counts were dismissed at trial; jury convicted on remaining counts.
Post-trial Hamilton raised seven assignments of error (motions to suppress/search, lost video evidence, continuances, absence during juror voir dire, shackling/outbursts, evidentiary rulings, sufficiency/weight, and allied-offenses sentencing). Court affirmed guilt, vacated and remanded sentencing for the possession and trafficking convictions as allied offenses.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Hamilton)	Held
Validity of stop and search	Officers had reasonable suspicion from dispatch and a citizen who identified the vehicle; tinted windows justified traffic stop; plain view marijuana gave probable cause to search	Stop/search lacked reasonable suspicion; Hamilton lacked standing to challenge search; officers planted marijuana	Stop and search lawful: traffic-stop authority plus citizen tip justified detention; Hamilton lacked standing to challenge vehicle search; discovery of marijuana provided probable cause for search
Failure to preserve cruiser video	State said missing files lost to equipment error despite preservation request; not shown to be bad faith or materially exculpatory	Lost footage was materially exculpatory and state acted in bad faith after representing videos existed	Trial court believed state’s equipment-error testimony; no reversible due-process violation found
Denials of continuances	State opposed further delay; witnesses/evidence issues were addressed and delays were numerous	Trial court abused discretion by denying three continuances to obtain witnesses/evidence	Denials not abuse of discretion given relevance, prior opportunities, multiple prior continuances, and no showing of prejudice
Defendant absent from juror voir dire	State: voir dire was necessary to protect jury integrity; counsel present to protect Hamilton’s rights	Exclusion violated right to be present at critical stage	Absence was not prejudicial; counsel present and defendant had no unique input, juror dismissed for cause
Shackling and courtroom outburst; mistrial motion	State: temporary restraint was reasonable to maintain order; court instructed jury to disregard incident	Shackling in front of jury and court’s “gag him” remark denied fair trial	No abuse of discretion: restraints brief, arose from disruptive conduct, curative instructions given; remark inappropriate but harmless
Admission of out-of-court statements tying apartment to Hamilton	State: statements explained officer conduct (how apartment targeted); admissible under "conduct-explanation" rule	Statements hearsay and improperly tied Hamilton to location/crime	Admission allowed under Ricks test (relevant, equivocal, contemporaneous, not unduly prejudicial); concurrence would find error harmless
Sufficiency/weight of evidence for heroin possession/trafficking and tampering	State: DNA on packaging, alleged confession, circumstantial evidence (calls) tied Hamilton to drugs and hidden money	Evidence pointed to Pitts as owner of the bag; no proof money existed in box spring or that removal was to impair investigation	Convictions supported: DNA and alleged admission supported drug convictions; calls and circumstantial evidence supported tampering conviction
Allied offenses (possession vs trafficking) sentencing	State conceded error; court can elect which offense to sentence	Hamilton argued convictions shouldn’t both stand for sentencing	Court found plain error: possession and trafficking of same heroin are allied; vacated sentences for those counts and remanded for election and resentencing

Key Cases Cited

Navarette v. California, 134 S.Ct. 1683 (U.S. 2014) (anonymous tip and reasonable-suspicion framework for investigative stops)
United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411 (U.S. 1981) (totality-of-the-circumstances test for reasonable suspicion)
Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (U.S. 1997) (officers may order passengers from lawfully stopped vehicle)
Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (U.S. 1978) (standing to challenge a search requires legitimate expectation of privacy)
California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479 (U.S. 1984) (due-process claim for destroyed materially exculpatory evidence)
Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51 (U.S. 1988) (bad-faith standard for failure to preserve potentially useful evidence)
Gates v. Illinois, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983) (informant-tip reliability under totality of the circumstances)
Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (U.S. 1990) (anonymous tip rarely sufficient alone for reasonable suspicion)
Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337 (U.S. 1970) (defendant may be restrained to maintain courtroom order)
State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152 (Ohio 2003) (standards for appellate review of suppression rulings)
Maumee v. Weisner, 87 Ohio St.3d 295 (Ohio 1999) (identified citizen-informant reliability)
State v. Ricks, 136 Ohio St.3d 356 (Ohio 2013) (limits on admitting out-of-court statements to explain a witness’s conduct)
State v. Moore, 90 Ohio St.3d 47 (Ohio 2000) (automobile exception to warrant requirement)
State v. Wilson, 129 Ohio St.3d 214 (Ohio 2011) (remedy when allied offenses require election and resentencing)