State v. Smith, 2014 Ohio 709

Defendant Marcus W. Smith was convicted by bench trial in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on three robbery counts with gun specifications and one count of having a weapon under disability; aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, and theft were acquitted or not guilty.
Indictment filed May 14, 2012 alleged February 16, 2012 Oakland Park residence robbery and related offenses, all with gun specifications; defendant waived jury and proceeded to bench trial.
Victims Danita Anderson, Whitney Surles, and Charlotte Surles testified defendant pointed a handgun at them while demanding money and then took cash and pills from rooms, purses, and dressers.
Defendant allegedly admitted to taking pills; the trial court credited the use of force and the pill theft, but found not guilty on aggravated robbery and theft charges.
Defense challenged sufficiency and weight of the evidence; the court held the evidence supported robbery with gun specification and having a weapon under disability, and acquitted on some counts as noted.
Sentence: two years on each robbery conviction, 24 months on weapon under disability, all concurrent, plus a consecutive three-year firearm specification, totaling five years.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence	Smith's convictions lack sufficient evidence.	Evidence did not prove robbery with a gun or disability.	Sufficient evidence supported convictions.
Weight of the evidence	Weight of testimony favored acquittal on key points.	Verdict against the manifest weight of the evidence.	Convictions not against the manifest weight; credibility disputes resolved by the trial court.
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to object to inadmissible hearsay and tainted testimony.	Counsel's performance prejudiced defendant by allowing hearsay.	No ineffective assistance; failure to identify specific prejudicial statements; record supports trial strategy.

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (sufficiency review standard; rational juror could find elements beyond reasonable doubt)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (test for sufficiency; establishment of elements beyond reasonable doubt)
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (1967) (weighing credibility is trial court's role)
State v. Antill, 176 Ohio St.61 (1964) (credibility and weight fall to the trier of fact)
State v. Lovejoy, 79 Ohio St.3d 440 (1997) (structural understanding of multi-count verdicts; inconsistencies across counts do not void verdict)