State v. Howell, 2017 Ohio 728

On Jan. 10, 2015, victim parked with her two children; appellant Anthony Howell arrived, confronted her, and an argument ensued.
Victim retrieved a baseball bat from her trunk to "scare" Howell; they struggled and the bat struck the victim’s lip (court found insufficient evidence to convict on that injury).
Victim entered her running car through the passenger side because the driver’s door was broken; children remained in the backseat.
While the victim sat inside and was moving toward the driver’s seat, Howell picked up the bat and struck the driver’s side window, shattering glass that fell onto a child’s lap (glass did not strike the victim).
Howell was charged with domestic violence (R.C. 2919.25(A)) and criminal damaging; after a bench trial he was convicted of both; he appeals only the domestic violence conviction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was legally sufficient to convict Howell of domestic violence based on attempting to cause physical harm by smashing the car window	State: smashing the window while victim was inside showed attempt to cause physical harm; broken glass is inherently dangerous	Howell: victim suffered no physical harm from the shattered glass; victim initiated the altercation and caused her lip injury	Conviction upheld — sufficient evidence of attempt to cause physical harm because Howell knowingly shattered the window while victim was inside
Whether the conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence	State: testimony and officer’s observations provide credible evidence supporting conviction	Howell: victim lied to police, provoked the incident, and was not hit by glass so no risk of injury	Not against manifest weight — trial court assessed credibility and the record supports the finding of attempt

State v. Pepin–McCaffrey, 186 Ohio App.3d 548 (Ohio App. 2010) (discussing sufficiency standard for criminal evidence)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (distinguishing sufficiency and manifest-weight standards)
State v. Martin, 164 Ohio St. 54 (Ohio 1956) (state must produce probative evidence on every material element)
State v. Sowell, 39 Ohio St.3d 322 (Ohio 1988) (awareness of likely consequences can support culpability for attempted harm)
State v. Blonski, 125 Ohio App.3d 103 (Ohio App. 1997) (domestic-violence conviction may stand even if victim sustains only minor or no injuries)