State v. Mobley, 2016 Ohio 4579

In June 2015 Traey Mobley struck his girlfriend Latisha Walker’s parked Dodge Charger multiple times with his Nissan Maxima in the driveway/yard of their shared residence; Walker and her mother were on scene and police responded.
Officer Shawn Todd, a traffic-accident reconstructionist, examined the scene and testified (based on tire marks, turf damage, vehicle crush, and sketches) that Mobley intentionally struck the Charger three times; Todd had specialized training and experience in reconstruction.
Mobley testified he lost control (disputed explanations included reaching for a phone, a PT Cruiser, and brake problems) and denied intent to hurt Walker; Walker offered mixed statements but testified she did not believe Mobley intended to harm her.
The trial court (bench trial) found Mobley guilty of felonious assault and domestic violence, acquitted him of OVI, and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, citing credibility in favor of Officer Todd.
On appeal Mobley’s sole assignment challenged admission of Officer Todd’s expert/reconstruction testimony for lack of pretrial expert disclosure under Crim.R. 16(K); he also contended the conviction would be unsupported without that testimony.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred by admitting Officer Todd’s accident-reconstruction opinion without Crim.R. 16(K) expert report/qualifications	State: Todd’s testimony was proper; evidence and some discovery (photos, videos, statements) were provided and Todd’s training/experience supported opinion testimony	Mobley: State failed to disclose an expert report or Todd’s CV and did not designate him as an expert, denying opportunity to challenge or obtain a rebuttal expert	Court: No plain error. Defense never objected at trial or sought continuance; court could reasonably rely on Todd’s displayed qualifications and there is no showing of manifest miscarriage of justice
Whether admission of Todd’s testimony requires reversal for insufficient evidence absent that testimony	State: All admitted evidence (including Todd) supports convictions; even if improperly admitted, sufficiency review considers all admitted evidence	Mobley: Without Todd’s reconstruction opinions, the State lacked proof of intent/knowledge required for felonious assault and domestic violence	Court: Even excluding the challenge, the record contains sufficient evidence to support convictions; claim without merit

State v. Rogers, 143 Ohio St.3d 385 (reversal for plain error is disfavored; notice with utmost caution)
State v. Brewer, 121 Ohio St.3d 202 (sufficiency review considers all evidence admitted at trial)
Lockhart v. Nelson, 488 U.S. 33 (federal authority on considering admitted evidence for sufficiency)
State v. Long, 53 Ohio St.2d 91 (plain-error standard guidance)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (definition of sufficiency of the evidence)
Roy v. Gray, 197 Ohio App.3d 375 (accident reconstruction involves scientific methodology and requires relevant expertise)