State v. Lindsey, 190 Ohio App. 3d 595

Defendant-appellant Syrita Lindsey was convicted by jury of four counts of vehicular assault in Franklin County after trial in April 2009.
April 18, 2007 crash on Waggoner Road involved Lindsey’s Lexus colliding head-on with Christopher Johnson’s pickup, injuring Johnson and his three grandsons and Lindsey herself.
Lindsey was indicted March 24, 2008 on four aggravated vehicular assault counts, four vehicular assault counts, and one OVUII count.
Trial began April 13, 2009; court precluded evidence of Lindsey’s blood-alcohol-refusal for lack of proper form, and instructed the jury accordingly.
Jury returned guilty on four vehicular assault counts; did not reach verdict on aggravated vehicular assault or OVUII; Lindsey was sentenced to three years (suspended), with community control, 31 days in jail, and five-year license suspension.
Lindsey appeals on three assignments of error challenging jury instructions, sufficiency/weight of the evidence, and ineffective assistance of counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did the trial court err in its ‘operate’ instruction to the jury?	Lindsey claims the definition was broader than Ohio law.	Lindsey argues the instruction inaccurately reflected the statutory definition.	No plain error; instruction not prejudicial.
Was the evidence legally sufficient and/or weighty to prove recklessness for vehicular assault?	Only Johnson’s testimony supports recklessness; no reconstruction evidence needed.	Sufficiency and weight favor the state given speed, wrong lane, and injuries.	Evidence sufficient and not against the manifest weight.
Did Lindsey receive ineffective assistance of counsel for not objecting to the ‘operate’ instruction?	Counsel’s failure to object constituted deficient performance.	Any error was not prejudicial; result likely the same.	No prejudice; Strickland standard not satisfied.

State v. Barnes, 94 Ohio St.3d 21 (Ohio St.3d 2002) (plain-error review standard for unobjected jury instructions)
State v. Hartman, 41 Ohio App.3d 142 (Ohio App.3d 1987) (recklessness standard in operating a vehicle analyzed with multiple factors)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio St.3d 1991) (sufficiency of the evidence standard; reviewing court does not assess credibility)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio St.3d 1997) (established sufficiency and manifest-weight framework; two-prong test)
State v. Yarbrough, 95 Ohio St.3d 227 (Ohio St.3d 2002) (evidence sufficiency in reviewing verdicts)