State v. Miller, 2015 Ohio 279

Background

Victim Alana W. accepted a ride from Carlos Miller on December 28, 2012; they later had sexual intercourse in Miller’s car. Alana testified Miller forced intercourse after threats and physical restraint; Miller testified the encounter was consensual following drug use.
Police and a sexual assault nurse examined Alana shortly after; swabs contained semen that did not exclude Miller. Physical exam was unremarkable.
Miller was indicted for rape (R.C. 2907.02(A)(2)); a jury convicted him, the trial court sentenced him to nine years and imposed a tier III sex-offender classification and a no-contact order.
Pretrial, Miller sought to substitute retained counsel (Charles Quinn) five days before trial; the court retained appointed counsel (Don Hicks) because Quinn was unprepared and the substitution came so late.
During cross-examination the prosecutor used his cell phone to display an iTunes album title to impeach Miller; defense objected but the court overruled.
Miller appealed asserting: deprivation of counsel of choice/impermissible outside-court investigation; prosecutorial misconduct (cell-phone impeachment); insufficiency/manifest weight; and error in imposing a no-contact order. The Ninth District affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Miller)	Held
1) Denial of retained counsel of choice	N/A — State argued trial court properly retained prepared counsel for trial	Miller: court structurally erred by refusing last-minute substitution of retained counsel	Court: no structural error; substitution sought 5 days before trial, Quinn was unprepared and Hicks was ready; right to counsel of choice is not absolute (denied).
2) Trial court consulted outside record when reviewing municipal file	State: court relied only on materials already in the case file and judicially noticeable proceedings	Miller: court improperly investigated and relied on municipal-file evidence outside the record to deny counsel	Court: no reliance on extrinsic evidence; referenced material already in the trial file and may judicially notice prior proceedings (denied).
3) Prosecutorial misconduct — cell-phone impeachment	State: prosecutor’s use of iTunes screenshot was for impeachment and did not prejudice fairness	Miller: prosecutor broadcast undisclosed internet evidence from his phone, unfairly impeached character and deprived Miller of opportunity to inspect evidence	Court: objections not timely/specific; the impeachment matter was minor and not outcome-determinative; no prejudice shown (denied).
4) Sufficiency/manifest weight of evidence and no-contact order	State: victim’s testimony, physical evidence (semen), contemporaneous reports and corroborating witnesses support conviction; trial court may impose no-contact orders as part of sentence	Miller: lack of physical injuries and conflicting testimony show consensual sex; no-contact order invalid once sentence imposed	Court: evidence sufficient and not against manifest weight — jury credited victim; physical silence on injury does not defeat force; no-contact order valid under Ninth District precedent (all arguments denied).

Key Cases Cited

Gonzalez-Lopez v. United States, 548 U.S. 140 (right to counsel of choice; wrongful denial is structural error)
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States, 491 U.S. 617 (Sixth Amendment protects choice of qualified retained counsel)
Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153 (right to counsel of choice is circumscribed; court has latitude to balance)
State v. Keenan, 81 Ohio St.3d 133 (discusses limits on choice-of-counsel right under Ohio law)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Diar, 120 Ohio St.3d 460 (due process and sufficiency review standards)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (manifest-weight standard)
State v. Otten, 33 Ohio App.3d 339 (articulating appellate manifest-weight review)
State v. Chambliss, 128 Ohio St.3d 507 (erroneous deprivation of counsel of choice requires automatic reversal)