State v. Smalls, 2017 Ohio 8763

Defendant Shonta Smalls was charged with one count of misdemeanor theft (R.C. 2913.02(A)(1)) and tried in municipal court.
Bench trial occurred April 19, 2016; trial court found Smalls guilty and sentenced her to 180 days (150 suspended), a $500 fine (suspended), and $210 court costs.
Smalls filed a stay of execution and then timely appealed. Appointed appellate counsel filed an Anders brief saying no meritorious issues could be found.
Counsel identified a potential issue: whether Smalls validly waived her Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial.
The record showed Smalls did not file a written jury-demand 10 days before trial as required by Crim.R. 23(A).
The appellate court conducted an independent review (Penson) and affirmed the municipal court judgment, finding the appeal meritless.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Smalls validly waived her jury-trial right	State: No jury demand was filed; waiver under Crim.R. 23(A) is complete without a timely written demand	Smalls (as identified by counsel): Waiver may not have been knowing, intelligent, and voluntary (Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments; Ohio Const.)	Court: Smalls did not file the required written demand; waiver was effective and there is no meritorious appellate issue

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) (sets procedure when appointed counsel believes appeal is frivolous)
Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988) (authorizes appellate courts to conduct independent review after Anders brief)