State v. Marcum, 2013 Ohio 5333

Marcum convicted of complicity to burglary (3rd degree) after a jury trial.
Indictment for burglary returned Sept. 24, 2010; events involved April 23–24, 2009 at Gerald Haffelt’s residence in Gallia County, Ohio.
Marcum, a West Virginia resident, was linked to the thefts of vintage guitars through co-defendants and informants.
Witnesses included Josh McCoy and Steven Marcum (co-defendants) and Teresa Lee (the Haffelts’ daughter); a monitored call implicated Marcum.
Defense presented alibi and credibility witnesses showing Marcum was in West Virginia during the relevant time window; recording of the call was admitted but not electronically preserved in the record.
Appellant challenges prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel; appellate court affirms trial court ruling, finding no reversible error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Prosecutorial misconduct during trial and closing	State argues conduct did not deprive fair trial; errors were not plain error.	Marcum asserts multiple improper statements biased the jury and violated due process.	No reversible prosecutorial misconduct; no plain error found.
Ineffective assistance of counsel	State contends counsel's handling of alleged misconduct was reasonable strategy.	Marcum claims ineffective assistance for not objecting and seeking curative instructions.	Counsel's performance not deficient; no prejudice demonstrated.

State v. Purdin, 2013-Ohio-22 (4th Dist. 2013) (prosecutorial misconduct must prejudice the trial to be reversible; plain error require exceptional circumstances)
State v. Leonard, 2009-Ohio-6191 (4th Dist. 2009) (focus on fairness of trial rather than prosecutor culpability)
State v. Smith, 2002-Ohio-6659 (Ohio 2002) (standard for prosecutorial conduct in closing arguments)
State v. Givens, 2008-Ohio-1202 (4th Dist. 2008) (adoptive admission doctrine; evidentiary impact in trial)