State v. Kirk, 2016 Ohio 8296

In 2015 Lacey Kirk was indicted on seven counts (rape, kidnapping, corruption of a minor) arising from incidents in 2000 and 2004; the State tried both incidents together.
Kirk moved to dismiss the indictment for prejudicial preindictment delay and alternatively to sever the counts for separate trials.
The trial court denied dismissal as to five counts from the 2000 incident but granted dismissal with prejudice as to two counts arising from 2004, finding actual prejudice from the State’s long delay and apparent lack of investigation.
The trial court relied in part on police inaction and the passage of 12 years before indictment to find Kirk’s due-process rights violated.
The State appealed, arguing the trial court erred; both parties agreed the Ohio Supreme Court’s then-recent decision in State v. Jones (issued two days after the trial court’s ruling) should control.
The appellate court reversed and remanded so the trial court can reconsider the dismissal under the clarified standard from Jones.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether preindictment delay violated due process	Trial court erred in dismissing part of the indictment; dismissal was premature	Delay (12 years) and police inaction caused actual, prejudicial harm to Kirk’s defense	Reversed and remanded for reconsideration under Ohio Supreme Court’s clarified standard (Jones)

State v. Powell, 61 N.E.3d 789 (8th Dist. 2016) (discusses standards for assessing actual prejudice from preindictment delay)