State v. Martemus, 2018 Ohio 3277

Victim was attacked in the common stairwell of a three-family home by two assailants: one armed with a pistol and one with a crowbar; victim sustained serious injuries.
Victim’s sister-in-law witnessed the end of the struggle, saw the man with the gun point it at her, and later identified Martemus at trial as that man.
Blood-stained in-ear earbuds were found at the scene; forensic testing produced DNA profiles consistent with the victim and with Martemus.
Victim could not identify the assailants at trial; he had been struck and had consumed alcohol and medications earlier.
Martemus was convicted after a bench trial of multiple counts including aggravated burglary, robbery, felonious assault, and weapons-under-disability, with firearm and prior-offender specifications; total prison term of ten years.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance for failure to move to suppress in-court ID	State argued counsel challenged the witness at trial and did not perform deficiently	Martemus argued counsel was deficient for not moving to suppress the sister-in-law’s in-court ID	No deficiency; even assuming deficiency, no prejudice shown — assignment overruled
Manifest weight of the evidence	State argued sister-in-law’s ID plus DNA on earbuds supported convictions	Martemus argued ID was suggestive/unreliable and DNA only shows prior ownership or loss of earbuds	Evidence was not so weak or equivocal to reverse; convictions affirmed

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-prong ineffective-assistance test)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (standard for manifest-weight review)
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (credibility and weight of evidence are for the trier of fact)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (describes manifest-miscarriage-of-justice standard)