State v. Green, Unpublished Decision (9-1-2004)
State v. Green, Unpublished Decision (9-1-2004)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Ronald Green appeals the decision of the Belmont County Court, Western Division, finding him guilty of two counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and sentencing him to one hundred eighty days in jail. The issues before us concern whether the court properly allowed the state to refresh its rebuttal witness's recollection, whether the decision was supported by sufficient evidence and by the weight of the evidence, and whether the court considered mitigating factors in sentencing appellant. For the following reasons, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.{¶ 3} Appellant's friend and codefendant, Bruce Stephens, testified for the state pursuant to a plea bargain. He stated that on November 22, 2002, appellant gave him money to buy a case of beer and six to twelve wine coolers. (Tr. 7, 13). He brought the alcohol to appellant's house. At some point that evening, the three minors appeared at the house. Mr. Stephens stated that he saw all three minors drink wine coolers. (Tr. 8).
{¶ 4} One of the seventeen-year-olds testified that appellant offered her and her same-aged foster-sister wine coolers and that they drank them. (Tr. 25, 26, 31). She noted, however, that he did not offer anything to her thirteen-year-old foster-sister, who may have taken a sip of a wine cooler that night. (Tr. 31).
{¶ 5} Appellant's friend, Steve Kuhn, then testified as an alibi witness for the defense that appellant was with him from early morning until 10:00 p.m. on November 22, 2002, first riding four-wheelers and then riding around town. (Tr. 12-16). Appellant, who is forty-four years old, confirmed Mr. Kuhn's testimony. Appellant insisted that the girls were never at his house. (Tr. 26).
{¶ 6} In rebuttal, the state called the other seventeen-year-old, who related that she was at appellant's house nine or ten times in the past but only drank there one time. First, she advised that the date she drank there was November 24, 2002; however, she then changed this to November 22, 2002, after the state displayed her written statement. (Tr. 36). She confirmed that appellant offered her a wine cooler, and she agreed that he did not offer any alcohol to the thirteen-year-old. (Tr. 40).
{¶ 7} At the close of all evidence, the state withdrew the count regarding the thirteen-year-old. The court then found appellant guilty of the two counts concerning the seventeen-year-olds. On March 25, 2003, the court sentenced appellant to one hundred eighty days on each count to run concurrently and then two years of supervised probation. The court also ordered that appellant have no contact with minors outside the presence of their parents. The within appeal followed.
{¶ 9} "The trial court committed reversible error in permitting the state to improperly refresh the recollection of a rebuttal witness, thereby denying defendant's right to due process."
{¶ 10} After appellant presented his alibi witness and his own testimony, the state called the second seventeen-year old to the stand to rebut their testimony. The following excerpt is relevant:
{¶ 11} "Q. Okay. And do you recall when it was that you were at his house drinking?
{¶ 12} "A. November 24, 2002.
{¶ 13} "Q. The 24th?
{¶ 14} "A. Uh-huh.
{¶ 15} "Q. Not on the 22nd that's fine, I mean —
{¶ 16} "A. Yeah. It was the 24th, I think it was.
{¶ 17} "Q. You think it was the 24th?
{¶ 18} "A. Yeah.
{¶ 19} "Q. Okay do you recall being questioned by Children's Services and the Barnesville Police Department about being at Ronnie Green's house?
{¶ 20} "A. Yes." (Tr. 36).
{¶ 21} The state then marked this witness's statement as State's Exhibit 2 and showed it to the witness. (Tr. 36-37). The witness advised that she was mistaken when she testified to November 24. (Tr. 37). The witness then expressed certainty that the date in question was November 22, 2002. (Tr. 45).
{¶ 22} Appellant claims that the trial court erred in allowing the state to refresh the witness's recollection with her prior written statement. The Supreme Court was faced with a case where the prosecutor referred various witnesses to their prior written statements, which were inconsistent with their trial testimony. State v. Ballew (1996),
{¶ 23} Here, defense counsel did not object to the state's use of the written statement to trigger the witness's memory. Accordingly, appellant is deemed to have waived any argument related to this issue. See Id.; Evid.R. 103(A)(i). Therefore, the matter can only be considered by this court pursuant to the doctrine of plain error. However, there is no indication that this court should embrace this discretionary doctrine. It is used by an appellate court only in exceptional circumstances to avoid a manifest miscarriage of justice. State v. Hughbanks,
{¶ 25} "The trial court's conviction of appellant on two (2) counts of providing alcohol to an underaged person, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 26} Although the text of this assignment and some of the arguments and law within the assignment refer to weight of the evidence, appellant also speaks of the law surrounding the sufficiency of the evidence doctrine. As we have stated numerous times, sufficiency and weight are different concepts with different standards. State v. Thompkins (1997),
{¶ 27} Sufficiency is a question of law dealing with the adequacy of the evidence. Id. at 386. In deciding this question of law, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the state and determine whether any rational trier of fact could find the essential elements were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.State v. Goff (1998),
{¶ 28} Weight of the evidence deals with the inclination of the greater amount of credible evidence to support one side of the issue over the other. Thompkins,
{¶ 29} As appellant notes, we have here a "he said/she said" scenario. Thus, he should realize that the trial court can choose which version to believe. The trial court was able to view the demeanor, voice inflections, and gestures of the witnesses testifying before it. Seasons Coal Co. v. Cleveland (1994),
{¶ 31} "The sentence of the trial court violates R.C.
{¶ 32} Appellant agrees that the trial court considered the factors in R.C.
{¶ 33} R.C.
{¶ 34} R.C.
{¶ 35} First, we point out that a court is not statutorily required to make specific findings on the record evincing that it considered the seriousness and recidivism factors. State v.Arnett (2000),
{¶ 36} In fact, it appears that almost every mitigating factor listed above is inapplicable to appellant's case. Additionally, the court mentioned appellant's prior convictions, which explicitly work against at least two of the mitigating criteria. This assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 37} For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.
Waite, P.J., concurs.
Donofrio, J., concurs.
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