State v. Kramer, 2016 Ohio 2984

Defendant Robert R. Kramer was indicted for one count of involuntary manslaughter (R.C. 2903.04(A)) after Jimmie Matney died of a heroin overdose on December 27, 2013; the indictment alleged Matney’s death proximately resulted from Kramer trafficking in heroin.
Trial took place April 15–17, 2015; the jury convicted Kramer and the court sentenced him in June 2015. Kramer appealed.
Key evidence: (1) text and call records between Kramer and Matney in the late evening of Dec. 26–early Dec. 27, 2013 suggesting a drug transaction; (2) heroin residue found on a spoon and on Matney’s phone; (3) cell‑site records placing Kramer’s phone within a sector covering the area around Matney’s residence at or near 12:06 AM; (4) coroner and forensic pathologist testimony that death was due to morphine (heroin) intoxication.
Defense evidence: an alibi witness (Kristy Cereghin) who testified Kramer stayed at her apartment from ~11:00 PM to about 2:00 AM; Kramer testified he had previously sold heroin to Matney in October 2013 but claimed he put Matney off on Dec. 26 and did not deliver drugs that night.
Procedural/appeal issues: Kramer raised three assignments of error on appeal—(1) trial court abused discretion by denying his midtrial pro se request, (2) ineffective assistance of counsel, and (3) conviction against the manifest weight of the evidence. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Kramer)	Held
1. Denial of request to proceed pro se	Trial court properly refused an untimely, equivocal outburst and no further inquiry required	Kramer argued he clearly asked to terminate counsel and represent himself midtrial	Court: Request was a momentary, emotional outburst, not clear and unequivocal; untimely (during trial); no abuse of discretion in denial
2. Manifest weight of the evidence (involuntary manslaughter via trafficking)	Evidence (texts/calls, cell‑site data, heroin residue, coroner testimony, witness accounts) supported jury’s finding that Kramer’s trafficking proximately caused death	Kramer argued he did not provide the heroin that killed Matney; alibi and lack of packaging/fingerprint/eyewitness evidence create reasonable doubt	Court: Weighed evidence and credibility; not an exceptional case; conviction not against manifest weight
3. Ineffective assistance of counsel	N/A—State defends adequacy of counsel’s strategy	Kramer alleged counsel failed to challenge medical/toxicology records, insufficient cross‑examination (witnesses), and inadequate overall defense	Court: Strategy choices were reasonable in light of defense theory (deny being the source); Kramer failed to identify specific deficiencies or prejudice under Strickland; claim rejected

State v. Neyland, 139 Ohio St.3d 353 (Ohio 2014) (defendant’s right to self‑representation requires a clear, unequivocal, and timely assertion)
Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (U.S. 1975) (Sixth Amendment right to self‑representation)
State v. Cassano, 96 Ohio St.3d 94 (Ohio 2002) (timeliness and clarity govern midtrial Faretta requests; denial of timely request is reversible error)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (standard for manifest‑weight review)
DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (Ohio 1967) (deference to trier of fact on witness credibility)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two‑prong standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)