State v. Szarell, 2019 Ohio 5175

On December 11, 2018, Dustin Szarell and his pregnant wife Danielle (eight months) visited Danielle's mother, Luan Smith.
Danielle used Szarell’s phone, saw something that upset her, and a verbal argument ensued.
Smith testified Szarell walked over and rammed his knee into Danielle’s thigh so hard her belly shifted; Danielle began crying.
Police responded; officers observed Danielle upset with flushed eyes but no visible injury; Danielle refused transport and did not give a written statement.
Szarell was charged with felony domestic violence (R.C. 2919.25(A) and (D)(1)(5)) because he knew Danielle was pregnant; a jury convicted him and he received a mandatory six‑month prison term.
Szarell appealed raising three issues: sufficiency of the evidence, manifest weight, and ineffective assistance for failing to request waiver of court costs.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to prove causing or attempting to cause physical harm	Smith’s testimony that Szarell rammed his knee into Danielle’s thigh shows an attempt to cause harm; viewed in light most favorable to the state, evidence supports conviction	No visible injury; Danielle testified Szarell only “nudged” her, so evidence is insufficient	Conviction supported; attempted harm proven by Smith’s testimony (sufficiency satisfied)
Manifest weight of the evidence (credibility of witnesses)	Jury credited Smith and officer testimony; credibility questions resolved against Szarell	Jury should not have believed Smith over Danielle; evidence conflicts	Not against manifest weight; jury did not lose its way in crediting Smith
Ineffective assistance for not requesting waiver of court costs at sentencing	Failure to request waiver did not prejudice defendant because statute allows post‑sentencing motion for waiver; no reasonable probability of a different outcome	Counsel should have requested waiver at sentencing; cites a conflicting appellate decision	Not ineffective; following this court’s precedent (no prejudice; defendant may seek waiver later)

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259, 574 N.E.2d 492 (Ohio 1991) (standard for sufficiency review following Jackson)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (constitutional sufficiency standard)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172, 485 N.E.2d 717 (Ohio Ct. App. 1983) (manifest miscarriage of justice/when new trial warranted)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 678 N.E.2d 541 (Ohio 1997) (discussion of manifest weight vs. sufficiency)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two‑prong ineffective assistance test)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 538 N.E.2d 373 (Ohio 1989) (applies Strickland in Ohio)
Antill, 176 Ohio St. 61, 197 N.E.2d 548 (Ohio 1964) (jury may accept portions of witness testimony)
State v. Jamison, 49 Ohio St.3d 182, 552 N.E.2d 180 (Ohio 1990) (credibility and weight are for the trier of fact)