State of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles E. Brown, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 15AP-935 (C.P.C. No. 14CR-2027)
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
November 29, 2016
[Cite as State v. Brown, 2016-Ohio-7944.]
(REGULAR CALENDAR)
Rendered on November 29, 2016
On brief: Ron O‘Brien, Prosecuting Attorney, and Sheryl L. Prichard, for appellee. Argued: Sheryl L. Prichard.
On brief: Yeura R. Venters, Public Defender, and George M. Schumann, for appellant. Argued: George M. Schumann.
APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas
SADLER, J.
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Charles E. Brown, appeals from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas convicting him of two counts of forgery, in violation of
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
{¶ 2} Appellant was charged with two counts of forgery, each a felony of the fifth degree, related to two checks made out to appellant that were drawn on the account of Angela Buergel. Buergel testified at trial that she hired a company to remodel her kitchen, including installation of new tile, beginning in July 2013. According to Buergel, while the work was underway, she discovered that two unauthorized checks had cleared her account
{¶ 3} Chris Allan is the production manager for the company that performed the kitchen remodeling at the Buergel home. Allan testified that he managed the remodeling project and that he hired Nick Wilson as a subcontractor on that project. He recalled that Wilson employed another worker by the name of Chad. Allan did not recognize anyone in the courtroom as having worked on the Buergel kitchen remodeling project. Allan related that when using subcontractors his company receives payment from the customer and then the company pays the subcontractors. The customers do not pay the subcontractors directly.
{¶ 4} Columbus Police Detective Wyatt Wilson is a member of the Forgery Unit, and he testified that he investigated the theft of Buergel‘s checkbook. Detective Wilson determined the two checks drawn on Buergel‘s account were cashed at the same CheckSmart location on separate days. Detective Wilson obtained video of one of the checks being cashed which was introduced into evidence and played to the jury. Detective Wilson testified that both checks were payable to appellant and that each check contained appellant‘s indorsement and a social security number on the reverse side. According to Detective Wilson, appellant admitted to cashing the two checks at CheckSmart.
{¶ 5} At the close of the state‘s evidence, appellant‘s counsel made a motion under Crim.R. 29 for a directed verdict of acquittal, which the trial court denied. Appellant then testified on his own behalf. He admitted that he had previously been convicted of forgery, but he denied committing forgery in this case. Appellant testified he was working multiple jobs in July 2013, including working for Nick Wilson. Appellant recalled that on or about the date of the offense, Wilson left appellant working at one job site and went off to work at the Buergel‘s home. Appellant stated that as he was finishing his work for the day, he received a call from Wilson who asked if it would be okay if Buergel wrote a check
{¶ 6} On cross-examination, the prosecutor asked appellant about his prior conviction:
Q. You also have been convicted of a crime, haven‘t you?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. Forgery, right?
A. Yes.
Q. And in [sic] instance that check was also written out to you, wasn‘t it?
MR. SCHUMANN: Objection. Your Honor, may we approach.
(Tr. Vol. II at 266.) The trial court held a brief discussion with counsel outside the presence of the jury before putting the jury on break and continuing the discussion.
{¶ 7} The prosecutor then completed his cross-examination of appellant and each side presented closing arguments. The trial court‘s final jury instructions informed the jury that they could not consider statements or answers that were stricken by the court or that they were instructed to disregard. The trial court also instructed the jury that evidence regarding appellant‘s prior forgery conviction could not be considered to prove his character or that he acted in conformity with that character but only for testing his credibility and the weight to be given to his testimony. The jury found appellant guilty of both counts of forgery as charged in the indictment. Pursuant to the jury‘s verdicts, the trial court issued a judgment entry sentencing appellant to one year of community control under basic telephone reporting supervision.
{¶ 8} Appellant timely appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court.
II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
{¶ 9} Appellant assigns the following three assignments of error for our review:
- [1.] The trial court erred in denying the defendant appellant‘s motion to declare a mistrial.
- [2.] The trial court err[ed] in denying the defendant appellant‘s Crim.R. 29 motion for judgment of acquittal at the conclusion of the state‘s case.
- [3.] The jury‘s verdicts convicting the defendant-appellant of two counts of forgery were against the manifest weight of the evidence.
III. LEGAL ANALYSIS
A. First Assignment of Error
{¶ 10} In appellant‘s first assignment of error, appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for a mistrial. Appellant claims that the prosecutor‘s query regarding the circumstances of his prior conviction unfairly prejudiced his defense and prevented him from receiving a fair trial. We disagree.
{¶ 11} “The granting or denial of a motion for mistrial rests in the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.” State v. Treesh, 90 Ohio St.3d 460, 480 (2001), citing
{¶ 12} “A mistrial should not be ordered in a criminal case merely because some error or irregularity has intervened.” State v. Reynolds, 49 Ohio App.3d 27, 33 (2d Dist.1988). “The granting of a mistrial is necessary only when a fair trial is no longer possible.” Treesh at 480, citing State v. Franklin, 62 Ohio St.3d 118, 127 (1991). “To determine whether the defendant was deprived of a fair trial, we must determine whether, ‘absent the improper remark[], the jury would have found the appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” State v. Walburg, 10th Dist. No. 10AP-1087, 2011-Ohio-4762, ¶ 52, quoting Columbus v. Aleshire, 187 Ohio App.3d 660, 2010-Ohio-2773, ¶ 42 (10th Dist.), citing State v. Maurer, 15 Ohio St.3d 239, 267 (1984).
{¶ 13} Appellant objected to the prosecutor‘s question because appellant believed that it would elicit inadmissible character evidence in violation of
asks us to revisit the trial court‘s ruling regarding admissibility, we do not need to reach
{¶ 14} In considering the extent of the prejudice to appellant arising from the prosecutor‘s question, we note that appellant admitted to the existence of his prior forgery conviction on direct examination.
{¶ 15} In this instance, the trial judge sustained defense counsel‘s objection before appellant answered, struck the prosecutor‘s question from the record, and immediately instructed the jurors to disregard the question. The substance of the trial court‘s curative instruction is as follows:
I have sustained the objection from the defense and the fact that some issues were raised in the state‘s question is irrelevant and should not be considered for any purpose in deciding this case. And I‘ll have the question stricken from the record.
(Tr. Vol. II at 283-84.)
{¶ 16} At the close of all evidence, the trial court instructed the jury to disregard any question that was stricken from the record as follows:
Statements or answers that were stricken by the Court or which you were instructed to disregard are not evidence and must be treated as though you have never heard them.
You must not speculate as to why the Court sustained an objection to any question or what the answer to that question might have been. You must not draw an inference or speculate on the truth of any suggestion included in a question that was not answered.
(Tr. Vol. II at 325.)
{¶ 17} The trial court then proceeded to instruct the jury regarding the proper consideration of appellant‘s prior conviction as follows:
Evidence was received that the defendant was convicted of forgery. That evidence was received only for a limited purpose. It was not received, and you may not consider it, to prove that character of the defendant in order to show he acted in conformity with that character. If you find that the defendant was convicted of forgery, you may consider that evidence only for the purpose of testing the defendant‘s credibility and the weight to be given the defendant‘s testimony. It cannot be considered for any other purpose.
(Tr. Vol. II at 327.)
{¶ 18} As an appellate court, we must presume that the jury followed the trial court‘s instructions. Walburg at ¶ 53, citing State v. Noling, 98 Ohio St.3d 44, 2002-Ohio-7044, ¶ 39; State v. Rowe, 92 Ohio App.3d 652, 672-73 (10th Dist.1993), jurisdictional motion overruled, 69 Ohio St.3d 1403. When appellant renewed his motion for mistrial during post-trial proceedings, the trial court concluded that “there was no evidence that the jury disregarded the curative instruction or the jury instructions that were provided to them.” (Tr. Vol. III at 360.) We agree with the trial court‘s conclusion.
{¶ 19} The circumstances in this case are similar to those presented to this court in Walburg. In that case, the defendant faced charges of complicity to possession of drugs. During redirect examination of the victim, the prosecution asked the victim the nature of defendant‘s business and she responded “he does illegal cable, illegal gas, illegal electric, illegal water, puts up cameras illegally, sells powder cocaine at the bar when he goes.” Id.
{¶ 20} On appeal from his conviction, Walburg argued that the trial court erred by refusing to declare a mistrial after the prosecutor elicited inadmissible evidence of other crimes or wrongs of the accused. In rejecting that argument, this court found as follows:
Before the trial began, the court instructed the jury that, if an objection were sustained, the jury was to “completely disregard the question and the answer” and “not to consider either for any purpose whatsoever.” (Tr. 27.) The court reiterated its curative instruction immediately after it sustained the objection to the victim‘s testimony and in the jury instructions at the end of the trial. The jury is presumed to have followed the trial court‘s instruction. Because the victim‘s reference to defendant‘s criminal occupations was an isolated reference, the trial court immediately sustained defendant‘s objection, and the court instructed the jury to disregard the question and response, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant‘s motion for a mistrial. State v. McCree, 8th Dist. No. 87951, 2007 Ohio 268, ¶ 40 (determining the trial court did not err in overruling the defendant‘s motion for a mistrial because the witness‘s reference to the defendant‘s criminal history was an isolated reference, the trial court properly struck the testimony and the court advised the jury to disregard it); State v. Woodward, 10th Dist. No. 03AP-398, 2004 Ohio 4418, ¶ 35 (determining court‘s prompt remedial actions after prejudicial testimony prevented finding that the trial court abused its discretion in denying a motion for a mistrial).
(Internal citations omitted.) Id. at ¶ 53.
{¶ 21} The facts of this case are similar to those in Walburg, and the same result is required. Here, the trial court sustained defense counsel‘s objection to the improper question before appellant responded and then struck the question from the record. The trial court followed up with a short authoritative instruction to the jury that they could not consider the prosecutor‘s question “for any purpose in deciding this case.” (Tr. Vol. II at 283.) The trial court gave a similar instruction to the jury before the jury retired to render
{¶ 22} Likewise, in State v. Garner, 74 Ohio St.3d 49 (1995), defendant objected and moved for a mistrial when a police investigator testified that he had made arrests at the defendant‘s address in the past. Id. at 59. The trial court immediately sustained the defense objection to the testimony and instructed the jury not to consider it. The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the trial court‘s denial of a mistrial because “the reference to the defendant‘s prior arrests was fleeting and was promptly followed by a curative instruction.” Id.
{¶ 23} Finally, in State v. Trimble, 122 Ohio St.3d 297, 2009-Ohio-2961, one of the state‘s witnesses sua sponte referred to the accused‘s prior conviction—a conviction which was not identified, nor admissible at trial. The trial court sustained the accused‘s objection to the “isolated remark” and gave a curative instruction but denied a motion for mistrial. Id. at ¶ 175. The trial court did not strike the statement. On review, the Supreme Court, relying on Garner, held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the accused‘s motion for mistrial and concluded that the trial court‘s corrective measures cured any unfair prejudice to Trimble arising from the evidence of his prior conviction. In so holding, the court found that “[t]he mere mention of [the] conviction, without more, did not unfairly prejudice [the accused] so as to require a mistrial.” Trimble at ¶ 175.
{¶ 24} Here, unlike in Trimble, appellant‘s prior conviction was itself admissible for the purpose of impeaching appellant‘s credibility. Appellant acknowledged his prior conviction for forgery on direction examination. The evidence of the conviction itself was admissible under
{¶ 25} On this record, we find that the trial court did not act unreasonably, arbitrarily, or unconscionably when it elected to strike the prosecutor‘s question and provide a curative instruction rather than declaring a mistrial. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied appellant‘s motion for a mistrial. Appellant‘s first assignment of error is overruled.
B. Second Assignment of Error
{¶ 26} In his second assignment of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred when it overruled his
{¶ 27} “Pursuant to
{¶ 28} Pursuant to
(A) No person, with purpose to defraud, or knowing that the person is facilitating a fraud, shall do any of the following:
(1) Forge any writing of another without the other person‘s authority;
(2) Forge any writing so that it purports to be genuine when it actually is spurious, or to be the act of another who did not authorize that act, or to have been executed at a time or place or with terms different from what in fact was the case, or to be a copy of an original when no such original existed;
(3) Utter, or possess with purpose to utter, any writing that the person knows to have been forged.
{¶ 29} “A person acts purposely when it is the person‘s specific intention to cause a certain result, or, when the gist of the offense is a prohibition against conduct of a certain nature, regardless of what the offender intends to accomplish thereby, it is the offender‘s specific intention to engage in conduct of that nature.”
{¶ 30} “An actor‘s purpose or intent may be established by direct or circumstantial evidence.” State v. Smith, 9th Dist. No. 26892, 2014-Ohio-3480, ¶ 19, citing State v. Tiger, 148 Ohio App.3d 61, 66 (9th Dist.2002). Similarly, circumstantial evidence is sufficient to allow a finding that the accused had the requisite knowledge under
{¶ 31} Here, the state produced undisputed evidence that the two checks cashed by appellant were stolen from Buergel and that the indorsements were not genuine. The state also produced undisputed evidence that appellant cashed one of the stolen checks, which was fraudulently made out to him in the amount of $550. That check was cashed on the evening of July 18, 2013. Appellant cashed the second stolen check, fraudulently made out to him in the amount of $500 on July 19, 2013. That check was cashed in the morning. The state also produced evidence that appellant, in an interview with police, admitted that he cashed the checks and kept some of the proceeds. This evidence, if believed, permits a reasonable inference that appellant cashed the checks either with the purpose to defraud Buergel or knowing that he was facilitating a fraud on Buergel. Thus, the evidence, if believed, is sufficient to establish appellant‘s guilt of forgery beyond a reasonable doubt. Ewing at ¶ 35 (the state produced sufficient circumstantial evidence to show that the seller of an automobile knew the buyer‘s check was stolen where the check identified the account owner as living at a different address than the buyer and was inexplicably written for more than the agreed purchase price).
{¶ 32} Appellant argues that other evidence produced in the state‘s case-in-chief established that appellant never performed work at Buergel‘s home, and he was not familiar with her signature. Appellant also relies on testimony from Detective Wilson who acknowledged that appellant provided an explanation for how he came into possession of the checks. Appellant claims that such evidence forecloses a finding, beyond a reasonable doubt, that appellant knowingly cashed stolen checks or purposefully defrauded Buergel. We disagree.
{¶ 33} The fact that the state‘s evidence does not exclude the possibility that appellant cashed the checks without knowledge that they were stolen and fraudulently indorsed does not mean that the evidence is insufficient to support appellant‘s conviction of forgery beyond a reasonable doubt. “When the state relies on circumstantial evidence to prove the essential elements of its case, there is no need for such evidence to be
C. Third Assignment of Error
{¶ 34} In appellant‘s third assignment of error, appellant contends that his conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence. The tests for sufficiency of the evidence and weight of the evidence are not the same. Thompkins at 386-87. Weight of the evidence concerns the effect of the evidence in inducing belief. Oteng at ¶ 67, citing State v. Wilson, 113 Ohio St.3d 382, 2007-Ohio-2202, ¶ 25, citing Thompkins at 386. It is the province of the factfinder to determine the truth from conflicting evidence, whether the conflicting evidence comes from different witnesses or is contained within the same witness‘s testimony. State v. Eisenman, 10th Dist. No. 10AP-809, 2011-Ohio-2810, ¶ 19. In order to reverse a verdict as being against the weight of the evidence, a unanimous reviewing court must determine that the jury clearly lost its way and created a manifest miscarriage of justice. Thompkins at 387, quoting State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172, 175 (1st Dist.1983). A verdict is reversed on these grounds only in exceptional circumstances. Id. The weight of the evidence, including the credibility of witnesses, is primarily an issue for the factfinder. State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230, 231 (1967).
{¶ 35} As we previously determined, the state presented sufficient evidence to prove that appellant committed forgery beyond a reasonable doubt. As also noted above, appellant took the stand in this case and denied knowledge that the checks had been stolen and fraudulently indorsed. Thus, there is some evidence in the record that would support a finding that appellant innocently came into possession of the stolen checks and cashed them without knowledge that they were forged. Nevertheless, the factfinder is in the best position to observe the demeanor, voice inflection, and gestures of the witnesses as they testify. State v. Williams, 10th Dist. No. 02AP-35, 2002-Ohio-4503, ¶ 58; State v. Clarke, 10th Dist. No. 01AP-194 (Sept. 25, 2001). In determining witness credibility, the jury is entitled to consider the reasonableness of the testimony and all the facts and circumstances surrounding the testimony. State v. Ealy, 10th Dist. No. 15AP-600, 2016-Ohio-1185; State v. Ferguson, 11th Dist. No. 2007-A-0059, 2008-Ohio-2392. The jury in this case had the opportunity to observe appellant as he testified and to determine the reasonableness of his testimony in light of all the surrounding facts and circumstances, including admissible evidence that appellant had a prior conviction for forgery, a crime involving dishonesty. Appellant asked the jury to believe his unlikely explanation of Nick Wilson‘s possession of two separate checks made payable to appellant and drawn on the account of a person appellant did not know. On cross-examination, appellant could not explain how Wilson could have obtained the second check from Buergel that appellant cashed on the morning of July 19, 2013, when Wilson had not returned to Buergel‘s home or performed any additional work for Buergel after leaving her home on the previous evening. Detective Wilson testified that appellant‘s conduct in cashing the second check the morning after the first raised “red flag[s].” (Tr. Vol. II at 222.)
{¶ 36} The jury chose not to believe appellant‘s story. On this record, we cannot say that the jury clearly lost its way when it found appellant guilty of forgery in spite of his denials. Accordingly, appellant‘s third assignment of error is overruled.
IV. CONCLUSION
{¶ 37} Having overruled appellant‘s three assignments of error, we affirm the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Judgment affirmed.
HORTON, J., concurs.
DORRIAN, P.J., dissents.
DORRIAN, P.J., dissenting.
{¶ 38} I respectfully dissent and would sustain the first assignment of error.
{¶ 39} The state‘s case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence. There was no evidence linking appellant directly to the theft of the checks from the Buergel home. There was no dispute that the checks were made out to appellant and that he cashed them. Thus, the case turned on appellant‘s credibility and whether the jury believed
{¶ 40} The prosecutor‘s question about the facts leading to appellant‘s prior conviction was highly prejudicial because appellant‘s credibility was the key issue to be determined by the jury. The prosecution clearly relied on the prior conviction to discredit appellant‘s testimony, noting in closing argument that the jury could consider his prior conviction in determining his truthfulness. The prosecutor also stated that, with respect to one part of appellant‘s story, “[b]esides the testimony of a convicted forger, we don‘t have any testimony or any other evidence” to support it. (Tr. Vol. II at 318.)
{¶ 41} With respect to appellant‘s counsel agreeing to the trial court‘s proposed curative instruction, I note that in ineffective assistance of counsel claims involving curative instructions, courts have held that a competent attorney may reasonably choose not to request a limiting instruction in order to avoid further emphasizing a defendant‘s prior convictions. See, e.g., State v. Hester, 10th Dist. No. 02AP-401, 2002-Ohio-6966, ¶ 15 (“Counsel may have declined to request a limiting instruction regarding appellant‘s prior convictions out of concern that, if such an instruction were given, the prior convictions would be once again called to the jury‘s attention.“); State v. Rawls, 10th Dist. No. 03AP-41, 2004-Ohio-836, ¶ 42 (“[T]here could have been a tactical reason for his trial
{¶ 42} Under the circumstances presented in this case, where the state relied solely on circumstantial evidence and appellant‘s credibility was the primary issue to be determined by the jury, I would conclude that the prosecutor‘s question about the factual circumstances of appellant‘s prior conviction prejudiced appellant‘s right to a fair trial. Although the trial court sustained appellant‘s objection to the question and instructed the jury to disregard it, the curative instruction was issued after an extended delay and was insufficient to reverse the prejudice arising from the prosecutor‘s question. Therefore, I would find the trial court abused its discretion by denying appellant‘s motion for a mistrial.