State v. O'Leary, 2016 Ohio 8095

Defendant Terry L. O’Leary was charged with one count of receiving stolen property after he drove a Tiffin Service Cab in Fostoria on November 14, 2015; he was also under community-control sanctions at the time.
Owner William Omlor reported the cab stolen after complaints about erratic driving; he testified he had not given O’Leary express permission to use the cab that night, though O’Leary had access to keys and had driven Omlor’s vehicles previously.
Multiple witnesses placed O’Leary driving the cab that evening; O’Leary admitted driving it and said he believed he had implied permission to use the vehicle and intended only to return it.
The State proceeded to a bench trial and the trial court found O’Leary guilty of receiving stolen property; O’Leary later admitted violating community control and received consecutive sentences totaling 23 months.
O’Leary appealed, asserting (1) insufficient evidence, (2) manifest-weight error, (3) ineffective assistance for failure to request consideration of lesser offense (unauthorized use of a vehicle), and (4) erroneous community-control revocation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to convict of receiving stolen property	State: testimony showed O’Leary possessed a cab that owner had reported stolen and lacked express permission	O’Leary: had implied consent based on past practice and access to keys	Conviction supported; evidence sufficient when viewed in favor of State
Manifest weight of evidence	State: witnesses and admissions support knowledge that vehicle was taken without permission	O’Leary: testimony credible that he had implied consent; court should have believed him	Not against manifest weight; credibility resolved for State by factfinder
Ineffective assistance of counsel for not requesting a lesser-included offense (unauthorized use of vehicle)	State: trial strategy decisions do not establish per se ineffectiveness	O’Leary: counsel’s failure prejudiced him by leaving out a lesser charge	Denied — failure to request lesser offense was trial strategy and not ineffective assistance
Community-control revocation based on receiving-stolen-property conviction	State: conviction violated condition to obey laws	O’Leary: challenged revocation as tied to contested conviction	Revocation affirmed — conviction valid and violation admitted

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (constitutional sufficiency standard for criminal convictions) (court reviews whether any rational trier of fact could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt)
State v. Lang, 129 Ohio St.3d 512 (Ohio 2011) (discusses sufficiency standard in Ohio criminal appeals)
State v. Hancock, 108 Ohio St.3d 57 (Ohio 2006) (applies Jackson standard)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (sets out manifest-weight review standard)
State v. Mendoza, 137 Ohio App.3d 336 (3d Dist. 2000) (articulates appellate manifest-weight analysis)
State v. Calhoun, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (Ohio 1999) (framework for ineffective-assistance analysis in Ohio)
State v. Lytle, 48 Ohio St.2d 391 (Ohio 1976) (ineffective-assistance two-step discussion)
State v. Griffie, 74 Ohio St.3d 332 (Ohio 1996) (trial strategy — failure to request lesser-included offense does not automatically equal ineffective assistance)