State v. Newman, 2018 Ohio 3253

On June 15, 2017, Jesse Lee Newman allegedly robbed a Starbucks cashier at screwdriver-point and took about $138; his companion (Della McElroy) later reported him and police recovered the screwdriver and a hat from her car.
Newman was indicted for robbery (R.C. 2911.02(A)(2)), pleaded not guilty, and had two appointed attorneys before seeking to proceed pro se.
After multiple counsel changes and a detailed colloquy, the trial court accepted Newman’s Faretta waiver, appointed standby counsel, and permitted Newman to represent himself at trial.
Newman was convicted by a jury on October 24, 2017, and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
On appeal Newman raised three errors: (1) his Faretta waiver was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary; (2) the court improperly restricted access to standby counsel; and (3) the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence.
The Fifth District affirmed, rejecting challenges to the waiver, limiting of standby-counsel contact, and the manifest-weight claim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of Faretta waiver	Court: trial court conducted comprehensive colloquy covering charges, penalties, procedure and risks; waiver adhered to Gibson/Crim.R.44(A).	Newman: lacked competence/understanding of trial procedure and was delusional about counsel, so waiver not knowing or intelligent.	Waiver valid; no indicia of incompetence requiring evaluation; defendant knowingly and intelligently waived counsel.
Access to standby counsel	Court: standby counsel is discretionary and may be limited to preserve pro se status; defendant was told counsel would be available at breaks.	Newman: limiting conferences prevented strategy (couldn’t consult during cross-exam) and denied effective assistance.	No abuse of discretion; limiting contact to breaks was permissible and Newman failed to preserve anything beyond plain-error review.
Manifest weight of the evidence	Court: witness credibility for jury; victim ID, girlfriend’s report, recovery of screwdriver/hat and surveillance stills made the case overwhelming.	Newman: victim’s testimony not credible; absence of full video undermines proof he brandished a screwdriver.	Conviction not against the manifest weight; evidence supported jury verdict.

Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975) (defendant may waive counsel and represent self)
Iowa v. Tovar, 541 U.S. 77 (2004) (waiver of counsel must be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent)
Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U.S. 708 (1948) (scope of adequate pretrial inquiry for waiver)
State v. Gibson, 45 Ohio St.2d 366 (1976) (Ohio standard for trial-court inquiry into waiver)
Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389 (1993) (competence to waive counsel separate from competence to represent oneself)
State v. Berry, 72 Ohio St.3d 354 (1995) (competency evaluation required only upon sufficient indicia of incompetence)
State v. Martin, 103 Ohio St.3d 385 (2004) (pro se right exists, standby counsel permissive and limited)
McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168 (1984) (role and limits of standby counsel)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (standard for manifest-weight review)
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (1967) (credibility determinations reserved to trier of fact)