Ohio Criminal Appeals Lawyer Blog

The Ohio Supreme Court reversed the second conviction of David B. Clinkscale because a juror was replaced during the deliberations of the guilt phase as you can read here. The OSC's opinion is significant for all capital defendants because, as the dissent complains, it "charts a new course for this court in capital cases." Capital cases have always received special treatment, but this decision errs on the side of the defendant instead of the usual other way around. The defense in Clinkscale did not object to the replacement of the juror for three weeks, the defense did not follow through with the requirements of Appellate Rule 9(C) by creating a statement to fill in what happened when the judge replaced the juror off the record, and lastly the defense only expressed speculation that the replaced juror would have hung the jury. Nevertheless, the OSC by a 4 to 3 vote reversed because capital cases must be conducted with a "strict level of care." Watch the oral argument held on March 10, 2009, by clicking here.