State v. Jones
2017 Ohio 4351
Ohio Ct. App.2017Background
- Lucas G. Jones was charged in Logan County with two counts of forgery for presenting fraudulent payroll checks at local stores on Jan. 9–10, 2016; he was not an employee of the named Subway locations.
- Jones had a contemporaneous conviction in Auglaize County (May 24, 2016) for presenting a similar fraudulent payroll check at a different store on Feb. 5, 2016.
- The State moved in limine (filed Sept. 7, 2016) to admit the Auglaize conviction as other-acts evidence under Evid.R. 404(B); the trial court granted the motion after a hearing.
- A jury convicted Jones on both Logan County forgery counts at trial (Sept. 8, 2016); he was sentenced to consecutive terms totaling 20 months and ordered the sentence to run consecutive to other county sentences.
- On appeal Jones argued the trial court abused its discretion by (1) admitting the Auglaize conviction under Evid.R. 404(B) and (2) allowing the evidence after allegedly untimely notice (one day before trial).
- The Third District affirmed, applying the three-step Williams test and concluding the evidence was relevant to intent/absence of mistake and that any prejudice was mitigated by a limiting instruction; the court also held the notice was reasonable under the case circumstances.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of prior conviction under Evid.R. 404(B) | State: prior Auglaize forgery is admissible to show motive, intent, knowledge, absence of mistake, and identity/scheme because the crimes were similar | Jones: prior conviction is unfairly prejudicial and was offered only to show bad character/conformity | Admitted: court applied Williams three-step test, found relevance to intent/absence of mistake, limiting instruction reduced unfair prejudice, so no abuse of discretion |
| Adequacy/timeliness of Evid.R. 404(B) notice | State: notice (provided two days before trial in the record) was reasonable under the circumstances and permitted pretrial resolution | Jones: notice was untimely (one day before trial) and unfairly surprised him | Reasonable: court found notice (as shown in record) was timely enough to allow pretrial challenge and did not unfairly surprise Jones |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Williams, 134 Ohio St.3d 521 (Ohio 2012) (sets forth three-step Evid.R. 404(B) admissibility analysis)
- State v. Maurer, 15 Ohio St.3d 239 (Ohio 1984) (trial court discretion in evidentiary rulings)
- State v. Issa, 93 Ohio St.3d 49 (Ohio 2001) (standard for reviewing evidentiary rulings; reversal only for prejudicial abuse of discretion)
- State v. Elliott, 91 Ohio App.3d 763 (3d Dist. 1993) (general rule excluding evidence of other crimes to prove character/conformity)
- State v. Adams, 62 Ohio St.2d 151 (Ohio 1980) (definition of abuse of discretion)