State v. Hoang, 2012 Ohio 3741

Hoang was indicted in 2006 for possession of marijuana and related forfeiture counts, with a supplemental indictment adding conspiracy and illegal cultivation charges.
He was convicted on all counts after a jury trial and forfeiture findings; the State elected counts for sentencing.
Hoang appealed; this court remanded for resentencing; a final judgment was entered and the current appeal followed.
The appellate court later followed Johnson’s framework after it was decided, remanding for allied-offense analysis.
The court ultimately affirmes in part, reverses in part, and remands for resentencing consistent with this opinion, including Johnson-based analysis.
The decision also addresses multiple pretrial and posttrial issues raised by Hoang, including speedy-trial, discovery, and suppression challenges.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Hoang’s speedy-trial rights were violated	Hoang asserts denial of speedy-trial rights	Hoang’s motions tolled time; delay attributable to defense	Assignment I overruled; no reversible speedy-trial violation
Whether counts were allied offenses and subject to merger; and whether consecutive sentences were proper	Hoang argues all offenses were allied imports; Johnson requires merger	State elected counts; Johnson postdates sentencing	Assignment II sustained; remanded for Johnson-based allied-offense determination; sentencing remanded
Whether the conspiracy indictment was fatally defective on its face	Indictment lacks specificity of overt acts	Indictment lists overt acts in the alternative and is valid	Assignment III overruled; indictment not facially defective
Whether Hoang’s motion for more specific bill of particulars was timely and proper	Motion untimely and improperly framed	Rules require timely request; supplemental counts satisfied particulars	Assignment IV overruled
Whether the State violated Brady or other discovery duties by withholding exculpatory evidence	Exculpatory evidence not disclosed	State disclosed what it had; no material exculpatory evidence shown	Assignment V overruled

Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213 (U.S. (1967)) (speedy-trial rights protection under U.S. Constitution)
State v. O’Brien, 34 Ohio St.3d 7 (Ohio 1987) (speedy-trial framework in Ohio)
State v. Williams, 4 Ohio St.3d 74 (Ohio 1983) (informant identity and privacy expectations; standing)
State v. Davis, 116 Ohio St.3d 404 (Ohio 2008) (concerning conspiracy and overt acts; sufficiency of indictment)
State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153 (Ohio 2010) (new Johnson test for allied offenses; conduct-based merger)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. (1983)) (totality-of-the-circumstances probable-cause standard)
State v. Childs, 88 Ohio St.3d 194 (Ohio 2000) (requirement of overt acts in conspiracy indictments)
State v. George, 45 Ohio St.3d 325 (Ohio 1989) (probable-cause standard and appellate review of warrants)