State v. Navarro, 2017 Ohio 611

On July 17, 2013, Brandon Navarro fled from a marked police cruiser while riding a motorcycle (no taillight or license plate) after the officer activated lights and siren; dashboard video and radio contact recorded the pursuit.
The pursuit lasted about 29 minutes and reached speeds up to 170 mph on I-75 and ~150 mph on a state route; Navarro’s passenger fell during a crash and Navarro fled on foot before being tasered and arrested.
Navarro was indicted for failure to obey a police signal with a specification under R.C. 2921.331(B) and (C)(5)(a)(ii), a third-degree felony, and initially tried pro se in 2014; that conviction was reversed on appeal for lack of waiver colloquy.
On remand Navarro was tried by jury in April 2016; the officer and the passenger testified and the jury viewed the dash camera video.
Navarro was convicted, sentenced to 30 months, and appealed; appellate counsel filed an Anders brief seeking permission to withdraw, identifying two potential issues (manifest weight/sufficiency and ineffective assistance).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency / manifest weight of evidence that Navarro willfully fled and caused substantial risk of serious physical harm	State: dash video, officer testimony, high speeds, passenger danger prove elements beyond a reasonable doubt	Navarro: (argued) verdict against manifest weight / insufficient evidence to prove substantial risk	Court: Affirmed — evidence (video, testimony) was sufficient and not against manifest weight
Ineffective assistance of trial counsel	Navarro: trial counsel performed deficiently, prejudicing outcome	State: counsel cross-examined, objected, argued mitigation; strategy reasonable and no prejudice	Court: Affirmed — no substantial violation of duties and no reasonable probability of different result
Anders withdrawal — whether appeal is frivolous and counsel may withdraw	Counsel: after review, no meritorious issues; seeks to withdraw under Anders	State: concurs with withdrawal request	Court: Granted — full review finds appeal frivolous and permits counsel to withdraw

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (U.S. 1967) (procedure for counsel to withdraw when appeal is frivolous)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (sufficiency standard review)
Eastley v. Volkman, 132 Ohio St.3d 328 (Ohio 2012) (manifest-weight standard)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (distinguishing sufficiency and manifest-weight review)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance)
State v. Hester, 45 Ohio St.2d 71 (Ohio 1976) (fair trial / substantial justice standard for counsel performance)
State v. Calhoun, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (Ohio 1999) (counsel duties and ineffective-assistance framework)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (Ohio 1989) (prejudice standard for ineffective assistance)
State v. Prescott, 190 Ohio App.3d 702 (Ohio Ct. App.) (appellate review as thirteenth juror)