State v. Prescott, 190 Ohio App. 3d 702

Prescott was convicted in Wood County for assault on a police officer, a fourth-degree felony, after a jury trial in September 2009.
The offense arose from a February 21, 2009 fistfight outside the Clazel bar in Bowling Green, Ohio, where Prescott allegedly punched Officer Davis amid a crowd and struggle.
Officers Davis and Lowery responded; Davis first confronted the fighters, was punched, and fell to the ground with Prescott on top.
Lowery arrived seconds later, restrained Prescott, and witnesses described a chaotic scene with a crowd and conflicting perceptions of who was a police officer.
The trial court instructed self-defense with limitations and a separate instruction on the private citizen’s limits in resisting an officer; the jury ultimately found Prescott guilty as charged.
On appeal, Prescott asserted three assignments of error: improper jury instruction, ineffective assistance of counsel regarding Crim.R. 16 procedures, and sufficiency/weight of the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the jury instruction on resisting arrest was improper.	Prescott argues the court instructed incorrectly about private citizens resisting officers.	Prescott maintains the instruction misstated the Fraley rule and favored the state.	Instruction correctly stated Fraley; no error.
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for Crim.R. 16 procedure	Counsel failed to obtain in-camera impeachment review for Lowery’s statement.	Even if imperfect, there was no prejudice because the court ruled on impeachment and evidence was controverted by trial record.	No ineffective-assistance error; no prejudice shown.
Whether the evidence was legally sufficient or against the manifest weight	Evidence failed to prove knowing assault on a police officer.	Evidence showed Prescott knowingly assaulted Davis and that force was not justifiable by self-defense in the circumstances.	Sufficient evidence and not against the manifest weight; conviction affirmed.

Columbus v. Fraley, 41 Ohio St.2d 173 (Ohio 1975) (establishes Fraley rule: private citizen may not resist arrest absent excessive force by officer)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (defines sufficiency of evidence standard; ‘rational trier of fact’ standard)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (jury standard for testing weight and sufficiency; canonical reference for appellate review)
State v. Johnson, 2009-Ohio-3500 (Ohio 6th Dist. 2009) (limits on self-defense; force must be reasonable under circumstances)