State v. Rosser, 2017 Ohio 5572

In 1996, when he was 17, Emmanuel Rosser was alleged to have committed attempted rape and kidnapping; he was identified and arrested the day of the incident and released to his mother.
Rosser was indicted in common pleas court in June 2015; a juvenile complaint was filed December 3, 2015, and after a bindover hearing the juvenile court transferred the matter to the general division and Rosser was reindicted in February 2016.
At trial the jury acquitted Rosser of attempted rape (for 2000-related counts as well) but convicted him of kidnapping; court imposed a six-year sentence.
Rosser appealed, arguing (inter alia) statute of limitations violation, ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to move to dismiss for preindictment delay, and that the juvenile court failed to comply with bindover procedures.
The appellate court found no statute-of-limitations violation and rejected the preindictment-delay ineffective-assistance claim for lack of demonstrated prejudice.
The court held, however, that counsel was deficient for failing to seek dismissal based on the juvenile court’s failure to conduct the required amenability hearing under R.C. 2152.12(B); that failure divested the common pleas court of subject-matter jurisdiction and required reversal and remand for an amenability hearing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Statute of limitations	State: indictment(s) were timely under the 25-year statute (2015 H.B. 6) or, at minimum, the 2016 indictment was a permissible superseding indictment to a timely 2015 indictment	Rosser: prosecution time-barred	Court: No violation — 25-year period applied and superseding indictment doctrine also saves the 2016 indictment
Preindictment delay (due process)	State: delay did not cause actual prejudice; prosecution timely commenced	Rosser: delay prejudiced defense (speculative alibi) and counsel should have moved to dismiss	Court: Rosser failed to show actual prejudice, so counsel’s failure to move on this basis was not prejudicial
Juvenile bindover / amenability hearing	State: case properly transferred after probable cause and age findings	Rosser: juvenile court failed to conduct required amenability hearing before transfer, depriving common pleas court of jurisdiction	Court: Juvenile court omitted required amenability hearing under R.C. 2152.12(B); transfer was jurisdictionally defective
Remedy and effect on other claims	State: convictions should stand because trial was otherwise fair	Rosser: jurisdictional defect requires dismissal or return to juvenile court	Court: Convictions reversed as void for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction; case remanded to juvenile court for mandated amenability hearing; other trial-issue assignments rendered moot

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance two‑prong standard)
United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307 (preindictment delay and due process framework)
State v. Jones, 148 Ohio St.3d 167 (Ohio reconfirmation of burden‑shifting for preindictment‑delay claims)
State v. Luck, 15 Ohio St.3d 150 (actual‑prejudice standard for preindictment delay)
State v. Walls, 96 Ohio St.3d 437 (age on apprehension as touchstone for juvenile jurisdiction)
State v. Wilson, 73 Ohio St.3d 40 (conviction void ab initio where common pleas court lacked jurisdiction due to defective juvenile transfer)
In re A.G., 148 Ohio St.3d 118 (juvenile delinquency proceeding commences on filing of complaint)