The Eighth District Court of Appeals ruled that a Cuyahoga County Trial Court abused its discretion by allowing "other acts" testimony in a trial for kidnapping and gross sexual imposition (GSI). Ohio Evidence Rule 404(B) prohibits the use of other acts evidence to prove the defendant has the propensity to commit the kind of crime for which he is on trial. There are some exceptions which allow the use of other acts evidence, but the Court of Appeals said none of those exceptions applied in this case. The Eighth District reversed the defendant's convictions and remanded the case for a new trial as you can read here.
If you are accused of a crime or have been convicted already, contact me if you can afford to hire a Dayton based criminal defense lawyer. Otherwise, contact your county or state public defender to see if they can help.
