State v. Milligan, 2012 Ohio 5736

Milligan was convicted of abduction and domestic violence after throwing the victim on a bed and choking her in a shared residence.
The victim, a household member, testified that Milligan was enraged by suspicions of infidelity and restrained her while choking.
Photographs of the victim’s neck corroborated the choking allegations and supported the credibility of the victim’s account.
The court acquitted Milligan of rape and gross sexual imposition, affecting the perceived credibility of the victim’s overall testimony.
Milligan challenged admissibility of the victim’s mother’s testimony about other acts; the state conceded an error regarding court costs.
The court affirmed the convictions in part, reversed in part on costs, and remanded to impose proper court costs.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Weight of the evidence	Milligan argues conviction is against the manifest weight due to credibility concerns.	Milligan contends the court should not credit the victim after acquittal on related charges.	Convictions supported by credible evidence; not against weight.
Other acts evidence admissibility	Admission of mother’s testimony about other acts was improper under Evid.R. 404(B).	Defense failed to object; error if any would be prejudicial.	Error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; no reversal mandated.
Ineffective assistance for failure to object	Victim’s mother’s other acts testimony was prejudicial due to lack of objection.	Trial counsel failed to object; ineffective assistance claim requires different standard.	No reversible prejudice; Strickland standard not met given compelling evidence.
Court costs notice at sentencing	Court costs were imposed but not properly advised at sentencing.	N/A or not argued separately.	Error acknowledged; vacate imposition of court costs and remand to properly impose costs.

State v. Otten, 33 Ohio App.3d 339 (9th Dist.1986) (manifest weight standard requires review of entire record)
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (1967) (credibility and witness evaluation reside with the trier of fact)
State v. Antill, 176 Ohio St. 61 (1964) (trier of fact may believe or disbelieve witnesses in whole or in part)
Cassano v. 8th Dist., 2012-Ohio-4047 (Ohio App. 8th Dist. 2012) (arguments must be stated for each assignment of error)
State v. Bayless, 48 Ohio St.2d 73 (1976) (harmless error standard for evidentiary rulings)
State v. Joseph, 125 Ohio St.3d 76 (2010) (sentencing costs need proper advisement)