State v. Smith, 2020 Ohio 760

On June 14, 2017, deputies stopped a car for traffic/vehicle defects; appellant Cory Smith was a rear-seat passenger.
Officers observed a bulge near Smith’s waistband and unusual body language; they patted him down after he initially refused and felt a firm, crinkling object.
A struggle occurred when officers attempted to handcuff Smith; he bit an officer and tossed a bag under the car that contained multiple bags of cocaine totaling 24.6 grams.
Smith was indicted on four counts (one count later dismissed): possession of cocaine (20–27 grams) and two counts of assault on peace officers; convicted by jury on possession and the two assault counts.
Trial court sentenced Smith to 8 years (possession) + 18 months + 18 months (assaults), to run consecutively for a total of 11 years; Smith appealed raising four assignments of error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Smith)	Held
1. Sentence contrary to law	Court considered relevant statutory factors and Smith’s criminal history; consecutive, maximum terms appropriate	Court improperly relied on dismissed charge and gave excessive/consecutive maximum sentence	Affirmed — record shows R.C. 2929.11/2929.12 considered; dismissal reference not sole basis; sentence within statutory range
2. Sufficiency of evidence (possession, assault)	Evidence (officer observations, pat-down, recovered 24.6g cocaine, struggle/biting) proves elements beyond reasonable doubt	State lacked proof Smith knowingly possessed the drugs or knowingly assaulted officers	Affirmed — evidence sufficient for a rational juror to convict
3. Manifest weight of evidence	Witness testimony credible; jury properly weighed credibility and did not lose its way	Jury verdict against weight of evidence; defense witness contradicted officers	Affirmed — appellate court declines to substitute its judgment for jury credibility findings
4. Ineffective assistance of counsel (failure to move to suppress)	No deficient performance because suppression motion lacked merit; stop and pat-down were lawful	Counsel ineffective for not filing motion to suppress stop/search/seizure	Affirmed — stop was valid (traffic violation), pat-down reasonable under Terry/plain-feel; no reasonable probability of success on suppression

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes federal standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio manifest-weight standard)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (officer may stop and pat-down based on reasonable suspicion for safety)
State v. Brown, 115 Ohio St.3d 55 (failure to file suppression motion not per se ineffective; defendant must show suppression basis)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (framework for ineffective-assistance claims in Ohio)
DeHass v. State, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (credibility and weight are jury functions)
U.S. v. Craft, 30 F.3d 1044 (plain-feel doctrine: contraband discovered by touch during lawful pat-down may be seized)
U.S. v. Ashley, 37 F.3d 678 (experienced officer may lawfully seize contraband felt during pat-down)