State v. Cameron, Unpublished Decision (6-27-2005)
State v. Cameron, Unpublished Decision (6-27-2005)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} In December 2003, the Stark County Grand Jury indicted appellant for one count of trafficking in marijuana in violation of R.C.
{¶ 3} On March 19, 2004, pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, appellant pled guilty to all charges. Upon accepting his guilty plea, the trial court sentenced appellant to an agreed upon aggregate prison term of eighteen months.
{¶ 4} On April 1, 2004, appellant filed a Motion to Return Property requesting hat ten guns confiscated from the residence of William Cameron, appellant's brother, in the search incident to appellant's arrest be returned to William Cameron.
{¶ 5} On May 26, 2004, the trial court conducted a hearing on appellant's motion to return property. At the hearing, William Cameron testified that all of the guns confiscated were his, except the Thompson Center Arms Muzzle loader. When the trial court inquired as to why he possessed so many guns, William Cameron stated that he liked guns and was a gun collector. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court continued the case for one week to allow William Cameron to locate gun purchase records for the weapons he claimed were his.
{¶ 6} On June 4, 2004, counsel for appellant notified the trial court that William Cameron was not able to acquire ownership papers or proof that he had purchased the guns. Thereafter, the trial court held that only two of the weapons should be returned to appellant's brother and filed a judgment entry granting the same.
{¶ 7} Appellant, John Cameron, has appealed raising the following assignment of error for our consideration:
{¶ 8} "I. Did the trial court abuse its discretion by not returning confiscated property to the appellant's brother?"
{¶ 3} In the instant case, forfeiture proceedings pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 4} R.C.
{¶ 5} "(C) A person loses any right that the person may have to the possession, or the possession and ownership, of property if any of the following applies:
{¶ 6} "(1) The property was the subject, or was used in a conspiracy or attempt to commit, or in the commission, of an offense other than a traffic offense, and the person is a conspirator, accomplice, or offender with respect to the offense.
{¶ 7} "(2) A court determines that the property should be forfeited because, in light of the nature of the property or the circumstances of the person, it is unlawful for the person to acquire or possess the property."
{¶ 8} R.C.
{¶ 9} Because appellant pled guilty to a felony drug offense, he forfeited any right to possess or own the firearms. See, R.C.
{¶ 10} To establish standing, a party must demonstrate an injury infact, which requires a showing that the party has suffered or will suffer a specific injury traceable to the challenged action and that this injury is likely to be redressed if the court invalidates the action or inaction. Ohio Contract Carriers Assn., Inc. v. P.U.C.O. (1942),
{¶ 11} To bring an action on behalf of a third-party, a litigant must satisfy three criteria: first, the litigant must have suffered an injury in fact, thus giving him or her a sufficiently concrete interest in the outcome of the issue in dispute; second, the litigant must have a close relation to the third party; and third, there must exist some hindrance to the third party's ability to protect his or her own interest. Powersv. Ohio (1991),
{¶ 12} Because appellant has not demonstrated that he has suffered an injury in fact or that there exists some hindrance to his brother's ability to protect his interest in the weapons, he lacks standing to contest the trial court's refusal to return the weapons to his brother.
{¶ 13} R.C.
{¶ 14} "The motion shall specify that the seizure of specified property was unlawful, state the reasons why the movant believes the seizure was unlawful, state that the movant is lawfully entitled to possession of the seized property, and request the court of common pleas to issue an order that mandates the law enforcement agency having custody of the seized property to return it to the movant."
{¶ 15} These procedures demonstrate that appellant, who now claims no interest in the firearms was procedurally barred from instituting a pretrial challenge to the seizure and has no standing to raise this issue in his appeal. State v. Woodbridge (2003),
{¶ 16} The appellant has failed to show that he is an aggrieved party whose substantial right to the property has been affected by the trial court's refusal to order the state to return the property seized. Statev. Yirga, 3rd Dist. No. 16-01-24, 2002-Ohio-2832.
{¶ 17} The appeal is dismissed for lack of standing.
Gwin, P.J., Hoffman, J., and Farmer, J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.