STATE OF OHIO v. JUSTUS WOODARD
Appellate Case No. 29110
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT MONTGOMERY COUNTY
September 2, 2022
[Cite as State v. Woodard, 2022-Ohio-3081.]
WELBAUM, J.
Trial Court Case No. 2020-CR-471 (Criminal Appeal from Common Pleas Court)
Rendered on the 2nd day of September, 2022.
MATHIAS H. HECK, JR., by ANDREW T. FRENCH, Atty. Reg. No. 0069384 and LISA M. LIGHT, Atty. Reg. No. 0097348, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, Montgomery County Prosecutor‘s Office, Appellate Division, Montgomery County Courts Building, 301 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45422
Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellee
J. DAVID TURNER, Atty. Reg. No. 0017456, 101 Southmoor Circle NW, Kettering, Ohio 45429
Attorney for Defendant-Appellant
Facts and Course of Proceedings
{¶ 2} On February 19, 2020, a Montgomery County grand jury returned an indictment charging Woodard with one count of felonious assault in violation of
{¶ 3} Following Woodard‘s indictment, the trial court issued a warrant for Woodard‘s arrest. On March 3, 2020, Woodard was arrested by law enforcement officers in Florida. Woodard was then extradited to Ohio on March 19, 2020, and booked into the Montgomery County Jail.
{¶ 4} On April 22, 2020, the trial court scheduled Woodard‘s case for a jury trial to commence on August 5, 2020. In doing so, the trial court issued an order extending Woodard‘s speedy-trial deadline from June 13, 2020, to August 5, 2020. The extension was made in response to COVID-19 concerns, as the trial court‘s order referenced the passage of Am.Sub.H.B. No. 197 and the Administrative Order of the Supreme Court of Ohio, which tolled speedy-trial deadlines from March 9, 2020 to July 30, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
{¶ 5} After the trial court ordered the speedy-trial extension, Woodard filed a time waiver on July 21, 2020, that waived his constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial. Shortly thereafter, the trial court rescheduled Woodard‘s jury trial for December 16, 2020. Two weeks prior to trial, Woodard and his counsel requested new counsel be appointed to represent Woodard due to the deterioration of their attorney-client relationship. In response, the trial court appointed new counsel for Woodard and continued his jury trial to March 3, 2021.
{¶ 6} The first day of Woodard‘s jury trial was presided over by Judge Mary Wiseman. However, on the second day of trial, Judge Richard Skelton appeared as the
{¶ 7} During trial, the State called several witnesses to testify. Among the witnesses was the purported victim of Woodard‘s offenses—Woodard‘s wife, J.W. J.W. testified that she and Woodard had been married since July 2, 2016, but had been separated since December 15, 2019. With regard to the incident in question, J.W. testified that around 3 a.m. on February 9, 2020, she awoke to Woodard knocking on her bedroom window. J.W. testified that she went to the back door of her house and saw Woodard standing outside crying. Upon seeing this, J.W. thought that Woodard wanted to reconcile their marriage. J.W. testified that she let Woodard inside her residence and engaged in consensual sex with him. J.W. claimed that Woodard never placed his hands around her neck while they were having consensual sex.
{¶ 8} Continuing, J.W. testified that after she and Woodard had sex, her cell phone alerted to a Facebook message from Woodard‘s former boss, Tim Stansell. J.W. testified that Woodard grabbed her cell phone, saw the message, and began screaming
{¶ 9} J.W. testified that, after Woodard made these threats, he began searching through her cell phone. In doing so, Woodard discovered a different message from one of his co-workers, Jeremy, which, according to J.W., “set [Woodard] off.” Id. at 45. J.W. testified that Woodard accused her of sleeping with Jeremy and threw her phone against the bathroom wall. J.W. testified that Woodard then sat on her stomach with his legs straddled around her while she was lying on her back on the bed. J.W. then recalled Woodard whispering: “[T]here‘s no cameras here to show what‘s * * * happening to you.” Id. at 46. The next thing J.W. remembered was Woodard putting both of his hands around her neck and her not being able to breathe. J.W. testified that she blacked out and eventually woke up on the floor to Woodard performing CPR on her.
{¶ 10} Once she regained consciousness, J.W. went to the bathroom to get her cell phone to see if she could call the police. J.W. testified, however, that Woodard jerked her phone out of her hand, threw it in the toilet, and said “you‘re not calling nobody bitch.” Id. at 48. J.W. testified that she then attempted to leave her house but ultimately stayed because Woodard threatened to burn it down if she left. J.W. also recalled Woodard begging her to not contact the police for 48 hours so that he could have time to
{¶ 11} J.W. testified that after Woodard left her house, she drove to a friend‘s house to call the police. J.W.‘s friend and the responding police officer appeared at trial and testified regarding J.W.‘s emotional state and the visible injuries they observed to J.W.‘s neck and chest. The attending physician who examined J.W. following the incident also testified regarding J.W.‘s injuries. Specifically, the physician testified that J.W. had bruising on her right lateral and left lateral neck and small cuts to her fingers. The State also admitted photographs into evidence that depicted bruising on J.W.‘s neck, chest, face and arms. See State‘s Exhibit 14-24.
{¶ 12} After the State rested its case, Woodard testified in his defense. During his testimony, Woodard admitted that he went to J.W.‘s residence on the night in question after drinking two pitchers of beer. Woodard claimed that he just wanted to sleep on J.W.‘s couch, but that J.W. wanted to first talk about their relationship. Woodard testified that J.W. told him that she was aware he had a new girlfriend and that she wanted to know if he would come back to her and reconcile their marriage. Woodard testified that he answered no and told J.W. that she needed to move on without him. Woodard, however, claimed that J.W. did not want to move on and told him that God wanted them to be together. In response, Woodard testified that he told J.W. he wanted a divorce.
{¶ 13} After having this conversation, Woodard claimed that J.W. wanted him to go to her bedroom so that they could have sex. Woodard testified that he did not want
{¶ 14} Woodard further testified that while having sex, J.W. “grabbed [his] hand and put it on her neck” because “she likes to be choked.” Id. at 311. Woodard testified that he “was mad that [J.W.] somehow talked [him] into having sex with her[.]” Id. Despite this, Woodard testified that he and J.W. “ended up having sex again.” Id. at 312. When they had sex a second time, Woodard testified that J.W. “place[d] [his] hands on her neck again” and “put[ ] her hands around [his hands] and then squeeze[d] * * * tighter than [they‘ve] ever done it before.” Id. at 312-313.
{¶ 15} Woodard testified that when he and J.W. were finished having sex, J.W. laid her cell phone next to him on the bed; the cell phone alerted to a message 15 minutes later. Woodard testified that J.W asked him to hand her the phone and that when he did, he noticed the message was from his former boss, Stansell. Woodard testified that when he saw the message he became infuriated because he believed that J.W. had been
{¶ 16} After messaging Stansell, Woodard testified that J.W. received another message on her cell phone from a different person. Woodard testified that the message said: “[W]hen I say that I love you, you know I mean it, right[?]” Trial Tr. Vol. II (Mar. 5, 2021), p. 317. Woodard testified that he became very upset after seeing this message and angrily threw J.W.‘s table lamp into a mirror. Woodard also admitted to putting his hands on J.W.‘s “upper shoulder * * * to hold her down” while asking her who the message was from. Id. Woodard testified that J.W. told him the message was from a man named Jeremy. Woodard testified that the Jeremy in question was his best friend and coworker, but that J.W. insisted it was a different person.
{¶ 17} Thereafter, Woodard testified that he threw J.W.‘s cell phone into the bathroom, which caused the phone to break. Woodard testified that J.W. began crying because she claimed that she could not afford another phone. Woodard recalled that J.W. was “crying heavily to where she couldn‘t possibly * * * talk at the same time” and noted that “it‘s hard for [J.W.] to catch her breath at the same time when she cries.” Id. at 319-320. Woodard testified that he felt bad about breaking J.W.‘s phone because J.W. had just told him that she had lost her job. As a result, Woodard claimed that he began consoling J.W. and held her in his arms while she was sitting on the edge of the bed crying.
{¶ 18} Woodard testified that while he was holding J.W., J.W.‘s “body kind of went limp a little bit” and “leaned to the left.” Id. at 321. Woodard testified that J.W. then
{¶ 19} Woodard testified that, shortly thereafter, J.W. sat back up on the bed and once again asked him to reconcile their marriage. Woodard testified that he and J.W. continued talking with each other until he left J.W.‘s house at 7 a.m. During that time, Woodard testified that J.W. told him she would not press charges against him if he would reconcile with her. Woodard testified that he then grabbed his cell phone and tried to video record their conversation. The video was admitted into evidence, but it showed nothing more than J.W. staring at Woodard in her bedroom doorway and Woodard talking to the camera. The audio accompanying the video was not played for the jury. Woodard testified that after taking the video, J.W. told him that she was going to tell her brother that Woodard had choked her and that she was going to ruin his life.
{¶ 20} After the foregoing testimony and evidence was presented at trial, the jury deliberated and found Woodard guilty as charged in the indictment. Following the guilty verdict, Woodard‘s trial counsel moved to withdraw his representation of Woodard due to the deterioration of their attorney-client relationship. The trial court granted counsel‘s motion and appointed new defense counsel to represent Woodard for the limited purpose of sentencing and possibly filing an appeal.
{¶ 22} Woodard now appeals from his conviction, raising five assignments of error for review. For purposes of clarity, we will review Woodard‘s assignments of error out of order.
Fifth Assignment of Error
{¶ 23} Under his fifth assignment of error, Woodard contends that his constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial were violated because the trial court did not bring him to trial within the time frame set forth in
{¶ 24} The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the
{¶ 25} The rights under
{¶ 26} The aforementioned time limitations for bringing a felony defendant to trial may be extended or “tolled” for the reasons listed in
(A) Any period during which the accused is unavailable for hearing or trial, by reason of other criminal proceedings against him, within or outside the state, by reason of his confinement in another state, or by reason of the pendency of extradition proceedings, provided that the prosecution exercises reasonable diligence to secure his availability;
* * *
(G) Any period during which trial is stayed pursuant to an express statutory requirement, or pursuant to an order of another court competent to issue such order[.]
{¶ 27} In this case, the record establishes that Woodard was arrested in Florida on March 3, 2020, and was confined there until he was extradited to Ohio on March 19, 2020. Therefore, the tolling provision under
{¶ 28} The tolling provision under
{¶ 29} In light of Am.Sub.H.B. No. 197 and the Supreme Court of Ohio‘s Administrative Order, the trial court issued an order extending Woodard‘s statutory speedy-trial deadline. In doing so, the trial court found that Woodard‘s speedy-trial deadline was set to expire on June 13, 2020, and extended it to August 5, 2020.2
However, before the August 5th deadline arrived, Woodard filed a time waiver on July 21, 2020, which waived his constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial. Because Woodard waived his right to a speedy trial before the statutory deadline, Woodard‘s statutory speedy-trial claim lacks merit.
{¶ 30} Also lacking merit is Woodard‘s claim that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated. To determine whether a defendant‘s constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated, courts apply the four-factor balancing test set forth in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). Under that test, courts should balance: (1) the length of the delay between accusation and trial; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) the defendant‘s assertion, if any, of his right to a speedy trial; and (4) the prejudice, if any, to the defendant. Voris, 2d Dist. Miami No. 2021-CA-2, 2022-Ohio-152,
{¶ 31} “Until there is some delay which is presumptively prejudicial, there is no necessity for inquiry into the other factors that go into the balance.” Barker at 530. In other words, “a finding of ‘presumptive prejudice’ is merely a triggering mechanism under the first Barker factor, which justifies an inquiry into the other three factors.” Voris at ¶ 24, citing State v. Kraus, 2d Dist. Greene No. 2011-CA-35, 2013-Ohio-393, ¶ 23. “A delay becomes presumptively prejudicial as it approaches one year in length.” Adams at ¶ 90, citing Doggett at 652. If the delay is presumptively prejudicial, the other factors are then “balanced considering the totality of the circumstances, with no one factor controlling.” State v. Perkins, 2d Dist. Clark No. 2008-CA-81, 2009-Ohio-3033, ¶ 8, citing Barker.
{¶ 32} In this case, the length of the delay in bringing Woodard to trial was exactly one year from the date of his arrest. While this triggers our review of the other three Barker factors, those factors do not weigh in favor of finding a constitutional speedy-trial violation. This is because the reason for the one-year delay was attributable to the tolling order caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was outside the trial court‘s control. It was also due to Woodard requesting new defense counsel two weeks before his scheduled trial, which resulted in a trial continuance. Furthermore, Woodard never asserted his right to a speedy trial in the court below, but instead waived that right by filing a time waiver. Woodard also failed to establish any prejudice arising from the one-year
{¶ 33} Woodard‘s fifth assignment of error is overruled.
First Assignment of Error
{¶ 34} Under his first assignment of error, Woodard contends that the trial court erred during sentencing when it failed to merge his felonious assault and abduction offenses as allied offenses of similar import. Because Woodard never objected to the trial court‘s failure to merge those offenses, Woodard has waived all but plain error with regard to that issue. State v. Rogers, 143 Ohio St.3d 385, 2015-Ohio-2459, 38 N.E.3d 860, ¶ 21-22; State v. King, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 29137, 2021-Ohio-4229, ¶ 28; State v. Wilson, 2d Dist. Clark No. 2018-CA-2, 2020-Ohio-2962, ¶ 119; State v. Trigg, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 26757, 2016-Ohio-2752, ¶ 12. It is well-established, however, that a trial court‘s failure to merge allied offenses constitutes plain error. King at ¶ 28; Wilson at ¶ 119; Trigg at ¶ 12; State v. Shoecraft, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 27860, 2018-Ohio-3920, ¶ 56. Therefore, we will review the merits of Woodard‘s argument.
{¶ 35} When a defendant‘s conduct supports multiple offenses, courts apply the allied offenses analysis set forth in
{¶ 36} ” ‘[W]hen determining whether offenses are allied offenses of similar import within the meaning of
{¶ 37} Offenses are dissimilar in import or significance within the meaning of
{¶ 38} Offenses are committed separately within the meaning of
{¶ 39} “At its heart, the allied-offense analysis is dependent upon the facts of a case because
{¶ 40} As previously discussed, Woodard claims that his felonious assault and abduction offenses were allied offenses of similar import that should have been merged
{¶ 41} Woodard‘s felonious assault offense was charged under
{¶ 42} After reviewing the record, we find that J.W.‘s testimony established that Woodard completed the abduction offense after he became angry over discovering the Facebook message from his former boss, Stansell. Specifically, J.W.‘s testimony established that Woodard knowingly restrained J.W.‘s liberty by force and created a risk of physical harm to J.W. when he ordered J.W. to stay on the bed and pushed/hit her down on the bed every time she tried to get up. J.W.‘s testimony also established that Woodard restrained her liberty by threat when Woodard threatened to tie her to the bed and to kill her, her mother, and her dog. Accordingly, the abduction was complete once Woodard engaged in the aforementioned conduct.
{¶ 43} J.W.‘s testimony also established that it was not until Woodard
{¶ 44} The abduction and felonious assault also involved separate, identifiable harms. The harm from the abduction involved restraining J.W.‘s liberty and causing J.W. risk of physical harm by pushing/hitting her down on the bed and by placing J.W. in fear for her life and the lives of her loved ones. The harm from the felonious assault involved Woodard choking J.W. to the point she lost consciousness. Therefore, because the abduction and felonious assault offenses were committed separately and involved separate, identifiable harms, the offenses were not allied offenses of similar import that merged for purposes of sentencing.
{¶ 45} Woodard‘s first assignment of error is overruled.
Second Assignment of Error
{¶ 46} Under his second assignment of error, Woodard contends that the trial court erred by failing to give a jury instruction on aggravated assault as an inferior-degree offense to felonious assault.
{¶ 47} As a preliminary matter, we note that Woodard did not request a jury instruction on aggravated assault at trial or object to its omission. Woodard therefore
{¶ 48} That said, “criminal defendants have the ‘right to expect that the trial court will give complete jury instructions on all issues raised by the evidence.’ ” State v. Rider, 2d Dist. Champaign No. 2021-CA-12, 2022-Ohio-1964, ¶ 38, quoting State v. Williford, 49 Ohio St.3d 247, 251, 551 N.E.2d 1279 (1990). “In deciding whether to provide a lesser-included or inferior-offense instruction, the court must find ‘sufficient evidence’ to allow a jury to reasonably reject the greater offense and find the defendant guilty on a lesser-included or inferior-degree offense.” Id., quoting State v. Ferrell, 2020-Ohio-6879, 165 N.E.3d 743, ¶ 35 (10th Dist.). “When the evidence presented at trial going to a lesser-included offense or inferior-degree offense meets this test, the trial judge must instruct the jury on the lesser-included or inferior-degree offense.” Id., citing State v. Conley, 2015-Ohio-2553, 43 N.E.3d 775, ¶ 32 (2d Dist.).
{¶ 49} In this case, Woodard correctly argues that aggravated assault is an inferior-degree offense to felonious assault, ” ‘as it contains elements which are identical to the elements defining felonious assault, except for the additional mitigating element of serious provocation.’ ” Conley at ¶ 32, quoting State v. Morrow, 2d Dist. Clark No. 2002-
{¶ 50} “Provocation, to be serious, must be reasonably sufficient to bring on extreme stress and the provocation must be reasonably sufficient to incite or to arouse the defendant into using deadly force.” Id. at paragraph five of the syllabus. “In determining whether the provocation was reasonably sufficient to incite the defendant into using deadly force, the court must consider the emotional and mental state of the defendant and the conditions and circumstances that surrounded him at the time.” Id. The following two-part test is utilized to determine whether the provocation was reasonably sufficient to incite a defendant into using deadly force:
First, an objective standard must be applied to determine whether the alleged provocation is reasonably sufficient to bring on a sudden passion or fit of rage. That is, the provocation must be “sufficient to arouse the passions of an ordinary person beyond the power of his or her control.” If this objective standard is met, the inquiry shifts to a subjective standard, to determine whether the defendant in the particular case “actually was under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage.”
{¶ 51} Upon review, we find that the evidence presented at trial did not support an inferior-degree offense jury instruction on aggravated assault, because the evidence failed to establish that Woodard‘s attack on J.W. was the result of serious provocation occasioned by J.W. While there was no dispute that Woodard became extremely enraged over the messages he read on J.W.‘s cell phone and over the thought of infidelity, the fact remained that Woodard‘s rage was not provoked by any actions or admissions of J.W. Rather, Woodard was provoked by messages that he chose to read, and J.W. had no control over the receipt or content of these messages.
{¶ 52} We also find, that under the specific circumstances of this case, the provocation at issue was not sufficient to arouse the passions of an ordinary person beyond the power of his or her control, and thus does not satisfy the objective prong of the serious provocation analysis. This is because an ordinary person in Woodard‘s position, i.e., a person who has been separated from his or her spouse for two months, has a new significant other, and wants a divorce, would not be expected to lose control and succumb to a fit of rage after simply learning that his or her estranged spouse receives messages from other alleged suitors. In our view, these circumstances would not incite or arouse the passions of an ordinary person beyond his or her control. Accordingly, because there was insufficient evidence of serious provocation, the trial court did not commit any error, plain or otherwise, by omitting a jury instruction on aggravated assault.
Fourth Assignment of Error
{¶ 54} Under his fourth assignment of error, Woodard contends that he was prejudiced by certain procedural irregularities that took place during his trial and sentencing. The first procedural irregularities Woodard is challenging are the replacement of Judge Wiseman with Judge Skelton at his trial and Judge Wiseman‘s return thereafter as the sentencing judge. Woodard claims that this did not comport with
{¶ 55}
If for any reason the judge before whom a jury trial has commenced is unable to proceed with the trial, another judge designated by the administrative judge, or, in the case of a single-judge division, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, may proceed with and finish the trial, upon certifying in the record that he has familiarized himself with the record of the trial. If such other judge is satisfied that he cannot adequately familiarize himself with the record, he may in his discretion grant a new trial.
{¶ 56} Woodard argues that the trial court violated
{¶ 57} As a preliminary matter, we note that Woodard failed to raise any of these arguments in the trial court. When Judge Skelton took over for Judge Wiseman on the second day of trial, Judge Skelton explained that Judge Wiseman had a potential COVID-19 exposure that required 10 days of isolation and that he was going to “fill in for Judge Wiseman for the remainder of the trial.” Trial Tr. Vol. I (Mar. 4, 2021), p. 140. Judge Skelton also advised that “Judge Wiseman reserv[ed] the right, should a guilty verdict be found, to be the sentencing judge since it is her case.” Id. Following these advisements, Judge Skelton gave each party an opportunity to make a statement regarding the matter. Neither party raised an objection to Judge Skelton‘s replacing Judge Wiseman for trial or to Judge Wiseman‘s possibly returning as the sentencing judge. When Judge Wiseman did later return as sentencing judge, Woodard once again failed to object.
{¶ 58} “It is a well-established rule that ’ “an appellate court will not consider any error which counsel for a party complaining of the trial court‘s judgment could have called but did not call to the trial court‘s attention at a time when such error could have been avoided or corrected by the trial court.” ’ ” State v. Quarterman, 140 Ohio St.3d 464, 2014-Ohio-4034, 19 N.E.3d 900, ¶ 15, quoting State v. Awan, 22 Ohio St.3d 120, 122, 489 N.E.2d 277 (1986), quoting State v. Childs, 14 Ohio St.2d 56, 236 N.E.2d 545 (1968), paragraph three of the syllabus. More specifically, the Supreme Court of Ohio has explained that a defendant who fails to timely object to the substitution of a judge waives his right to challenge the reassignment. The Supreme Court stated that:
“[A]ny party objecting to a reassignment must raise that objection at the first opportunity to do so. If the party has knowledge of the transfer with sufficient time to object before the new judge takes any action, that party waives any objection to the transfer by failing to raise that issue on the record before the action is taken.”
In re Disqualification of Cirigliano, 105 Ohio St.3d 1223, 826 N.E.2d 287, ¶ 26 (2004), quoting Berger v. Berger, 3 Ohio App.3d 125, 131, 443 N.E.2d 1375 (8th Dist.1981), overruled on other grounds, Brickman & Sons, Inc. v. Natl. City Bank, 106 Ohio St.3d 30, 2005-Ohio-3559, 830 N.E.2d 1151. See also In re J.J., 111 Ohio St.3d 205, 2006-Ohio-5484, 855 N.E.2d 851, ¶ 17 (“[a] party may timely object to the authority of a visiting judge on the basis of an improper case transfer or assignment, but failure to timely enter such an objection waives the procedural error.“) Accord State v. Scurlock, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-15-1200, 2017-Ohio-1219, ¶ 57 (holding that appellant‘s right to challenge the authority of a sentencing judge who had the case transferred back to him after the completion of trial was waived by appellant‘s failure to object); State v. B.J.T., 2017-Ohio-8797, 101 N.E.3d 62, ¶ 40 (12th Dist.).
{¶ 59} Because Woodard never objected to Judge Skelton‘s substitution for Judge Wiseman at trial or to Judge Wiseman‘s return as the sentencing judge, Woodard has waived all but plain error for appeal with regard to those issues. See State v. Sylvester, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 103841, 2016-Ohio-5710, ¶ 31-32; State v. Williams, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-150249, 2016-Ohio-5827, 71 N.E.3d 592, ¶ 54-55. To constitute plain error, the error must be an obvious defect in the trial proceedings, and the error must
{¶ 60} With regard to Woodard‘s argument that there is nothing in the record indicating that the administrative judge designated Judge Skelton as Judge Wiseman‘s replacement as required by
{¶ 61} Woodard has also failed to demonstrate plain error with regard to Judge Wiseman‘s return as the sentencing judge. Woodard argues that it can be inferred from
{¶ 62} In Beatty, the Supreme Court of Ohio explained that
{¶ 63} Under the logic of Beatty, either Judge Wiseman or Judge Skelton had authority to sentence Woodard, as both judges presided over Woodard‘s trial. Judge Wiseman arguably presided over one of the most important parts of the trial, the testimony of the victim. Not only did Judge Wiseman preside over a portion of the trial, but she also handled Woodard‘s case for approximately one year before trial began. Therefore, even though Judge Wiseman did not preside over the entire trial, she was familiar with
{¶ 64} Even if we were to accept Woodard‘s claim that
{¶ 65} For the foregoing reasons, Woodard has failed to establish that the replacement of Judge Wiseman with Judge Skelton at his trial or Judge Wiseman‘s return as the sentencing judge resulted in plain error.
{¶ 66} The other procedural irregularity that Woodard challenges on appeal is the trial court‘s appointment of new defense counsel for purposes of sentencing. Woodard claims that appointing new counsel for sentencing prejudiced him because his new counsel did not have the benefit of attending his trial. Specifically, Woodard argues that
{¶ 67} Contrary to Woodard‘s claim otherwise, the record indicates that Woodard‘s new counsel had the opportunity to familiarize himself with Woodard‘s case, as the trial court granted counsel a two-week continuance of the sentencing hearing for that purpose. Woodard‘s new counsel also made statements at the sentencing hearing which indicated that counsel had reviewed the trial transcript. Specifically, Woodard‘s new counsel stated that: “[T]here‘s some discrepancy whether it be through his former counsel or just directly to the Court or even I think to the prosecutor during the trial that I reviewed that he – he never took responsibility for his actions.” (Emphasis added.) Sentencing Tr. Vol. II (Apr. 27, 2021), p. 441. Counsel also stated: “Your Honor, I – you know, we don‘t hide – we don‘t hide away from the fact that the facts were bad and the facts that came out at trial were bad.” (Emphasis added.) Id. at 442. Therefore, because the record indicates that Woodard‘s new counsel had the opportunity to review the case materials and made statements at the sentencing hearing indicating that he had in fact conducted such a review, Woodard‘s claim of prejudice lacks merit.
{¶ 68} Woodard‘s fourth assignment of error is overruled.
Third Assignment of Error
{¶ 69} Under his third assignment of error, Woodard contends that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to: (1) request a jury instruction on aggravated assault; (2) subpoena J.W.‘s cell phone records; (3) subpoena three witnesses for trial,
{¶ 70} In order to succeed on an ineffective assistance claim, a defendant must establish: (1) his trial counsel‘s performance was deficient; and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced him. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), paragraph two of the syllabus; State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 538 N.E.2d 373 (1989), paragraph two of the syllabus. To establish deficient performance, a defendant must show that his trial counsel‘s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonable representation. Strickland at 688; Bradley at 142State v. Hale, 119 Ohio St.3d 118, 2008-Ohio-3426, 892 N.E.2d 864, ¶ 204, citing Strickland at 687-688 and Bradley at paragraph two of the syllabus. The failure to make a showing of either deficient performance or prejudice defeats a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Strickland at 697.
{¶ 71} In reviewing ineffective assistance claims, ” ‘we will not second-guess trial strategy decisions, and “a court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel‘s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” ’ ” State v. English, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 26337, 2015-Ohio-1665, ¶ 10, quoting State v. Mason, 82 Ohio St.3d 144, 157-158, 694 N.E.2d 932 (1998), quoting Strickland at 689. Therefore, ” ‘trial
{¶ 72} Woodard first claims that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to request a jury instruction on aggravated assault as an inferior-degree offense to felonious assault. Because we have already determined that the trial court did not err by failing to give such an instruction, Woodard‘s claim that his trial counsel was deficient in that regard lacks merit. As previously discussed, an instruction on aggravated assault was not warranted by the evidence presented at trial. Therefore, Woodard not only failed to demonstrate that his counsel‘s failure to request an aggravated assault instruction fell below an objective standard of reasonable representation, but he also failed to demonstrate any resulting prejudice. Accordingly, Woodard‘s first ineffective assistance of counsel claim lacks merit.
{¶ 73} Woodard also claims that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to subpoena J.W.‘s cell phone records, failing to subpoena Stansell, Webb, and Tyree as trial witnesses, and failing to obtain a forensic physician to assess whether J.W.‘s injuries were the product of self-harm. All of these failures, however, are within the purview of trial strategy, which cannot form the basis of an ineffective assistance claim. See State v. Bennett, 6th Dist. Wood No. WD-08-005, 2008-Ohio-5812, ¶ 11(“Discovery decisions are presumed to be trial strategies which do not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.“); State v. McCoy, 188 Ohio App.3d 152, 2010-Ohio-2639, 934 N.E.2d 971, ¶ 51 (2d Dist.) (“counsel‘s failure to subpoena tapes would have been a matter of trial strategy“); State v. Conway, 109 Ohio St.3d 412, 2006-Ohio-2815, ¶ 113 (“Counsel‘s decision to call a witness is a matter of trial strategy“); State v. Treesh, 90 Ohio St.3d 460, 489, 739 N.E.2d 749 (2001) (“counsel‘s decision whether to call a witness falls within the rubric of trial strategy and will not be second-guessed by a reviewing court“); State v. Jackson, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 02AP-867, 2003-Ohio-6183, ¶ 76. (“trial counsel‘s decision not to seek expert testimony is unquestionably tactical because such an expert might uncover evidence that further inculpates the defendant.“) Because even a debatable decision concerning trial strategy cannot form the basis of a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel, Conley, 2015-Ohio-2553, 43 N.E.3d 775, at ¶ 56, Woodard‘s claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to subpoena the cell phone records and witnesses at issue and for failing to obtain a forensic physician to assess J.W.‘s injuries lack merit.
{¶ 74} We also note that Woodard has failed to explain how the cell phone records, witness testimony, and forensic assessment would have assisted his defense. Although Woodard argues that a forensic assessment of J.W.‘s injuries would have been “essential” to his defense, it remains purely speculative as to whether a forensic physician would have concluded that J.W.‘s injuries were the result of self-harm. “Such speculation is insufficient to establish ineffective assistance.” State v. Short, 129 Ohio St.3d 360, 2011-Ohio-3641, 952 N.E.2d 1121, ¶ 119, citing State v. Perez, 124 Ohio St.3d 122, 2009-Ohio-6179, 920 N.E.2d 104, ¶ 217. See also State v. Fraker, 3d Dist. Union No. 14-12-19, 2013-Ohio-4561, ¶ 53 (holding that an ineffective assistance claim could not be based on counsel‘s failure to obtain a medical expert who could have provided an alternative causation for the victim‘s injuries because the court could not speculate as to whether an alternative causation would have actually been argued or established by the expert). Therefore, Woodard has not only failed to establish deficient performance on the part of his trial counsel, but also that he was prejudiced by counsel‘s failures with regard to the cell phone records, witness testimony, and forensic assessment. Accordingly, the ineffective assistance claims based on those matters fail.
{¶ 75} Woodard next contends that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to object to Judge Wiseman‘s sentencing him as opposed to Judge Skelton. However, as discussed under Woodard‘s fourth assignment of error, it was appropriate for Judge Wiseman to sentence Woodard since she had presided over a portion of his trial and was familiar with his case. Furthermore, it is possible that Woodard‘s trial counsel believed that it was advantageous to have Judge Wiseman sentence Woodard, making the failure to object a matter of trial strategy that cannot form the basis of an ineffective assistance claim. Accordingly, Woodard failed to demonstrate deficient performance on the part of his counsel. Woodard also cannot establish that he was prejudiced by Judge Wiseman‘s sentencing him, as it is pure speculation that Judge Skelton would have imposed a more lenient sentence. As previously discussed, “mere speculation cannot support either the deficient performance or prejudice requirement of an ineffective-assistance claim.” State v. Morgan, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 27774, 2018-Ohio-3198, ¶ 16, citing Short at ¶ 119 and Perez at ¶ 217.
{¶ 76} For his last ineffective-assistance argument, Woodard contends that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to argue for the merger of his felonious assault and abduction offenses at sentencing. However, as discussed under Woodard‘s first assignment of error, the trial court correctly decided not to merge those offenses as allied offenses of similar import since they were committed separately and involved separate, identifiable harms. Thus, Woodard‘s claim that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to object to the trial court‘s merger determination lacks merit, as the failure to object was simply a product of Woodard‘s counsel‘s following the law. Because Woodard failed to establish that his trial counsel‘s performance was deficient and prejudicial, all six of his ineffective assistance of counsel claims fail.
{¶ 77} Woodard‘s third assignment of error is overruled.
Conclusion
{¶ 78} Having overruled all five assignments of error raised by Woodard, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
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EPLEY, J. and LEWIS, J., concur.
Copies sent to:
Mathias H. Heck, Jr.
Andrew T. French
Lisa M. Light
J. David Turner
Hon. Mary Lynn Wiseman