State v. Patterson, 2013 Ohio 1647

Patterson was convicted in Stark County Common Pleas Court of aggravated murder with a death penalty specification and firearm specification, and aggravated burglary with a firearm specification.
The jury trial followed an August 14, 2011 incident where Patterson and associates allegedly planned and carried out a robbery that resulted in Melvin Hope’s murder in Canton, Ohio.
Witnesses testified that Patterson obtained a .22 revolver, entered Hope’s home, and shot Hope during an attempted robbery.
Evidence included testimony from Roberson and Wright linking Patterson to the shooting, gun handling details, and physical evidence such as lead residue on Patterson’s shorts.
The penalty phase resulted in a life sentence without parole, with the court merging firearm specifications and imposing consecutive terms for burglary.
Patterson timely appealed, raising issues on weight/sufficiency of the evidence, admissibility of gruesome photos, prosecutorial/defense-related continuance, ineffective assistance, and sentence review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency/weight of the evidence	Patterson claims evidence fails to prove he acted with purpose and was principal offender.	State argues evidence supports purposeful killing and principal-offender liability.	Not against weight or sufficiency; evidence supports purpose and principal offender finding.
Admission of autopsy photograph	Exhibit 18F was inflammatory and prejudicial with little probative value.	Photo has probative value showing cause of death; admissible as relevant.	Admission proper; probative value outweighed prejudice.
Continuance to speak with witness after sworn	Continuance to speak with Roberson harmed defense and violated rights.	Ten-minute recess to counsel witness was permissible; no prejudice shown.	No plain error; not reversible; recess within trial court’s discretion.
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel deficient for not objecting to jury instructions and aggravated burglary amendment.	Indictment/instructions adequate; no prejudice from amendment; defense theory preserved.	No ineffective assistance; instructions and amendments did not prejudicially impair defense.
Sentence review	Life without parole should be reviewable for manifest weight/evidentiary support.	Aggravated murder sentencing under R.C. 2929.03 not subject to evidentiary review.	Sentence not reviewable on evidentiary grounds under established Ohio law.

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (thirteen-juror review for manifest weight; credibility afforded weight to jury verdict)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (sufficiency standard: rational trier of fact could find elements proven)
State v. Maurer, 15 Ohio St.3d 239 (1984) (admission of photographic evidence balanced against prejudice)
State v. Morales, 32 Ohio St.3d 252 (1987) (photographic evidence admissibility standards)
Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (1983) (abuse-of-discretion standard for evidentiary rulings)
State v. Heiberger, 6th Dist. No. E-84-54 (1985) (trial-court discretion in recesses for witness calm)
State v. Porterfield, 106 Ohio St.3d 5 (2005) (aggravated murder sentencing not subject to certain reviews)
State v. McDowell, 10th Dist. No. 03AP-1187 (2005) (evidentiary review limitations on aggravated murder sentences)