State v. Mills, 2011 Ohio 5793

This appeal arises from a Richland County, Ohio, conviction for aiding and abetting felony murder and involuntary manslaughter, with felonious assault as the underlying offense; the jury found Mills guilty on the charged counts and the court merged the murder and involuntary manslaughter convictions and imposed an aggregate sentence of 15 years to life.
The incident occurred on August 27, 2009, involving Mills, his sons Kameron and Kyle, and members of the Edwards family, culminating in the death of Mills’s father, Jim Mills, who was struck with a board.
The State alleged Mills aided and abetted the underlying felonious assault and thereby caused Jim Mills’s death as a proximate result of the assault, with specific acts described in the bill of particulars.
Mills challenged self-defense instructions and argued the evidence was insufficient/against the manifest weight; the trial court admitted various “other acts” evidence; the court of appeals upheld the convictions and rejected the self-defense claim.
Judge Edwards issued a memorandum opinion affirming the judgment; Judge Hoffman dissented in part, arguing the proximate-cause analysis did not support Mills’s proximate-cause liability for Jim Mills’s death.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did the evidence support aiding and abetting felony murder and involuntary manslaughter?	State argues evidence shows Mills led the melee and encouraged the assaults.	Mills contends there was no proof he instigated or aided the fatal acts or that death was the proximate result of felonious assault.	Yes, evidence supported aiding/abetting and proximate-cause liability.
Was Mills’s conviction supported by sufficient evidence and not against the manifest weight?	State asserts the jury could reasonably find Mills contributed to the deaths.	Mills argues the evidence fails to show his actions caused the death or that the death was a foreseeable result.	No reversible error; convictions affirmed on sufficiency and weight grounds.
Was the trial court required to give a self-defense instruction for counts I and II?	State contends that self-defense instruction was not required as a matter of law given the evidence.	Mills maintains error in not instructing on self-defense as to the two counts.	No error; trial court did not abuse discretion in not giving self-defense instruction.
Did plain-error review apply to evidentiary issues about ‘other acts’ and character evidence?	State maintains such evidence was admissible to show animosity and context for the melee.	Mills asserts Evid.R. 403/404 violations affected the verdict.	No reversible plain error; evidentiary rulings were within bounds and weight of evidence supported conviction.

Jenks v. State, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (sufficiency review standard (Jackson v. Virginia))
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (Ohio App.3d 1983) (reaffirming manifest weight review standard)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (established standard for weight of evidence and credibility)
State v. Dykas, 185 Ohio App.3d 763 (Ohio App.8th Dist. 2010) (proximate-cause theory in aiding/abetting)
State v. Robinson, 98 Ohio App.3d 560 (Ohio App.4th Dist. 1994) (proximate-liability principles in complicity)
State v. Chambers, 53 Ohio App.2d 266 (Ohio App.1977) (proximate consequences in underlying felonies)
State v. Losey, 23 Ohio App.3d 93 (Ohio App.1985) (scope of risk and foreseeability in liability)
State v. Lovelace, 137 Ohio App.3d 206 (Ohio App.1999) (foreseeability and proximate cause in criminal liability)
State v. Ervin, 2006-Ohio-4498 (Ohio 2006) (proximate-cause theory in felonious assaults leading to death)
State v. Dixon, 2002-Ohio-541 (Ohio 2002) (proximate cause and liability for killings)
State v. Tuggle, 2010-Ohio-4162 (Ohio 2010) (proximate causation in complicity)
State v. Johnson, 93 Ohio St.3d 240 (Ohio 2001) (aiding and abetting standard and jury instructions)