State v. Singleton, 2019 Ohio 4518

Defendant Jordan P. Singleton (son) was charged with one count of domestic violence for allegedly choking his mother during an argument in November 2018; the mother lived with him.
Victim testified Singleton put both hands around her neck, pushed her against a stair rail, and she saw visual symptoms; she photographed marks on her neck immediately after.
Less than nine minutes later she called 9-1-1 to report theft of gravel from her driveway; she initially did not report the assault on the call but told officers about it when they arrived.
Officer observed marks on the victim’s neck; Singleton admitted a verbal altercation but denied any physical assault.
After a bench trial, the court convicted Singleton of misdemeanor domestic violence (R.C. 2919.25(A)) and sentenced him January 11, 2019 to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine; the court later suspended 90 days of jail and the fine conditioned on a psychological evaluation and no law violations through January 11, 2020.
On appeal the court held the case was not moot (suspended-sentence condition remained), rejected arguments that evidence was insufficient or that the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence, affirmed the conviction, and remanded to correct a clerical error in the judgment entry.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Mootness (appeal)	State: appeal not moot because suspended sentence conditions remain until Jan 11, 2020	Singleton: appeal moot because he served jail time and challenges conviction	Not moot — suspended conditions leave collateral consequences possible until Jan 11, 2020
Sufficiency of the evidence (Crim.R. 29)	State: photographic evidence, officer observation, victim testimony satisfy elements of R.C. 2919.25(A)	Singleton: evidence was only he‑said/she‑said; police did not photograph injuries or sufficiently corroborate	Evidence sufficient; reasonable minds could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Manifest weight of the evidence	State: trial court as factfinder reasonably credited victim and photographic evidence	Singleton: conviction against weight because investigation gaps and inconsistent 9-1-1 call	Not against manifest weight; court did not clearly lose its way in crediting victim and evidence

State v. Golston, 71 Ohio St.3d 224 (1994) (voluntary satisfaction of sentence renders appeal moot absent collateral legal disability)
In re S.J.K., 114 Ohio St.3d 23 (2007) (collateral-consequences exception to mootness)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Bridgeman, 55 Ohio St.2d 261 (1978) (sufficiency review—whether reasonable minds could find guilt)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (manifest-weight standard and limited role of appellate courts)
United States v. Collon, 426 F.2d 939 (6th Cir. 1970) (authority quoted for sufficiency formulation)