State v. Tabassum ( 2011 )


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  • [Cite as State v. Tabassum, 2011-Ohio-6790.]
    STATE OF OHIO                    )                    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
    )ss:                 NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
    COUNTY OF SUMMIT                 )
    STATE OF OHIO                                         C.A. No.       25568
    Appellee
    v.                                            APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT
    ENTERED IN THE
    JAWAID TABASSUM                                       COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
    COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO
    Appellant                                     CASE No.   CR 10 04 0925
    DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
    Dated: December 30, 2011
    MOORE, Judge.
    {¶1}    Appellant, Jawaid Tabassum, appeals from the judgment of the Summit County
    Court of Common Pleas. This Court affirms.
    I.
    {¶2}    On January 22, 2010, Fred Morehead walked into a convenience store owned and
    operated by Jawaid Tabassum. Morehead purchased three “scratch off” lottery tickets and left
    the store. When he went across the street to a café and scratched off one of the tickets, he
    discovered he had won $1000. He returned to the convenience store to collect the money. When
    Morehead presented the winning ticket, Tabassum told him he would cash the ticket but would
    deduct $300 for taxes. Tabassum then gave Morehead $700. Morehead is unemployed, and has
    a payee for his social security disability benefits related to mental health impairments.
    {¶3}    On April 12, 2010, Tabassum was indicted on the charge of theft from a disabled
    adult in violation of R.C. 2913.02(A)(3), a felony of the fifth degree. The case proceeded to jury
    2
    trial, and on June 29, 2010, the jury found Tabassum guilty of theft and determined that
    Morehead was a disabled adult within the meaning of the statute. On August 2, 2010, together
    with restitution and other sanctions, the trial court sentenced Tabassum to twelve months of
    incarceration which the court suspended upon the condition that Tabassum complete one year of
    community control.
    {¶4}   Tabassum timely filed a notice of appeal and raises six assignments of error for
    our review. We have consolidated the first and second assignments of error and rearranged the
    remaining assignments of error for ease of discussion.
    II.
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I
    “THE COURT ERRONEOUSLY DENIED [TABASSUM]’S RULE 29
    MOTION FOR ACQUITTAL AS THE STATE DID NOT PROVE FELONY
    THEFT BY DECEPTION FROM A DISABLED ADULT AS THERE WAS
    NOT ANY DOCUMENTATION OR TESTIMONY FROM A BONAFIDE
    AGENT OF ANY STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY OR ANYONE ELSE WHO
    ATTESTED TO THE CERTIFICATION OF [] MOREHEAD AS
    PERMANENTLY AND TOTALLY DISABLED WHICH IS AN ESSENTIAL
    ELEMENT OF THE COUNT CHARGED IN THE INDICTMENT. THUS, []
    TABASSUM’S CONVICTION FOR THEFT FROM A DISABLED PERSON IS
    AGAINST THE SUFFICIENCY AND/OR WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE
    PRESENTED AT TRIAL. THE STATE FAILED TO PRESENT SUFFICIENT
    EVIDENCE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE STATE’S VICTIM WAS A
    DISABLED ADULT AS DEFINED BY R.C. 2913.01(DD) .”
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR II
    “THE COURT ERRONEOUSLY DENIED [TABASSUM]’S RULE 29
    MOTION FOR ACQUITTAL AS THE STATE DID NOT PROVE DECEPTION
    AS THE LOTTERY TICKET IN QUESTION BELONGED TO [TABASSUM]
    AND NOT TO [MOREHEAD] AND [TABASSUM] DID IN FACT FOLLOW
    THE APPROPRIATE PROCEDURES AS TO THAT TICKET.”
    {¶5}   In his first and second assignment of error, Tabassum argues that his conviction
    was not supported by sufficient evidence. Specifically, he argues that the State failed to prove
    that the victim was a disabled adult and that Tabassum engaged in deception. We do not agree.
    3
    Although, in the statement of his first assignment of error, Tabassum raises the issue of manifest
    weight, his arguments pertain only to the sufficiency of the evidence, and we limit our discussion
    accordingly. See App.R. 16(A)(7) and App.R. 12(A)(2). However, a broader discussion of the
    manifest weight of the evidence is set forth in response to Tabassum’s fourth assignment of error
    below.
    {¶6}   A motion pursuant to Crim.R. 29 tests the sufficiency of the evidence presented
    by the State. State v. Thompkins (1997), 
    78 Ohio St. 3d 380
    , 386. The issue of whether a
    conviction is supported by sufficient evidence is a question of law, which we review de novo.
    
    Id. When considering
    a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, the court must determine
    whether the prosecution has met its burden of production. 
    Id. at 390
    (Cook, J. concurring). In
    making this determination, an appellate court must view the evidence in the light most favorable
    to the prosecution:
    “An appellate court’s function when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to
    support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to
    determine whether such evidence, if believed, would convince the average mind
    of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The relevant inquiry is
    whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution,
    any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime
    proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Jenks (1991), 
    61 Ohio St. 3d 259
    ,
    paragraph two of the syllabus.
    {¶7}   Here, Tabassum challenges his conviction for theft from a disabled adult in
    violation of R.C. 2913.02(A)(3), which provides, “No person, with purpose to deprive the owner
    of property or services, shall knowingly obtain or exert control over either the property or
    services * * * by deception[.]” R.C. 2913.02(B)(3) provides that “theft from an elderly person or
    disabled adult is a felony of the fifth degree.” A “disabled adult” is defined in R.C. 2913.01(DD)
    as,
    4
    “a person who is eighteen years of age or older and has some impairment of body
    or mind that makes the person unable to work at any substantially remunerative
    employment that the person otherwise would be able to perform and that will,
    with reasonable probability, continue for a period of at least twelve months
    without any present indication of recovery from the impairment, or who is
    eighteen years of age or older and has been certified as permanently and totally
    disabled by an agency of this state or the United States that has the function of so
    classifying persons.”
    {¶8}     R.C 2913.01(A) defines “deception” as,
    “knowingly deceiving another or causing another to be deceived by any false or
    misleading representation, by withholding information, by preventing another
    from acquiring information, or by any other conduct, act, or omission that creates,
    confirms, or perpetuates a false impression in another, including a false
    impression as to law, value, state of mind, or other objective or subjective fact.”
    {¶9}     As part of the State’s case-in-chief, it provided the testimony of Morehead, Buddy
    Conley, Bobbie Wamsley, Kathy Harper, and Justin Morris. Morehead testified that he is forty-
    nine years old. He does not work and receives a total of $494 at the beginning of each month
    from Social Security and SSI because he suffers from anxiety, and he is bipolar and a depressant
    schizophrenic. He sometimes does “side jobs,” resulting in earnings of $5 to $15 per job. In the
    past, Morehead had panhandled, but he made very little money doing so; the most he has ever
    made was $75.
    {¶10} On January 22, 2010, Morehead was interested in renting a room from Conley.
    Conley wanted $250 to rent the room, and Conley needed to borrow $50 to fix his truck.
    However, Morehead only had $5 in quarters at that time.
    {¶11} Later that day, Morehead was at the South Street Express, where he purchased
    instant lottery tickets from Tabassum, who owns the store. He scratched off some tickets in the
    store, but he did not win on those tickets. He then left the store and went across the street to
    Hope Cafe, a church-run coffee house. There, he scratched off his last ticket. He recognized the
    ticket as a winning ticket and took the ticket back to South Street Express. He was very excited
    5
    and showed the ticket to Tabassum. Morehead then attempted to exit the store. However,
    Tabassum stopped him and offered to cash the ticket. Morehead agreed, but Tabassum stated
    that he needed to withhold $300 for taxes. Tabassum then gave Morehead the balance of the
    winnings of $700. Morehead went back to Hope Cafe with the money, and there he talked with
    Conley. Morehead gave him $250 to rent Conley’s room and loaned Conley $50 to get his truck
    fixed.
    {¶12} Also, while he was at Hope Cafe, Morehead called Bobbie Wamsley, whom he
    refers to as his “adopted mother” and who is the payee on this Social Security and SSI checks.
    Morehead told her that he won $1000 on a lottery ticket and that Tabassum had withheld $300
    for taxes. Wamsley advised him that taxes are not supposed to be withheld from the winnings.
    {¶13} Later, Morehead encountered an acquaintance named Kathy Harper. Harper gave
    Morehead a ride from Hope Cafe to Wamsley’s home. On the way, they stopped at Walmart,
    and Morehead purchased fishing equipment and other items. He told Harper about winning on a
    lottery ticket, and he told her that Tabassum had withheld money for taxes.
    {¶14} The next day, Morehead contacted Tabassum about withholding the $300, and
    Tabassum told him to come back to the store, and he would give Morehead the money back.
    However, Tabassum did not give him the $300, and Morehead contacted the police and made a
    report.
    {¶15} Conley, Wamsley and Harper testified as to their interactions with Morehead on
    January 22, 2010. Each individual’s testimony set forth essentially the same encounters with
    Morehead as Morehead had set forth in his testimony.
    {¶16} Justin Morris, an investigator for the Ohio Lottery Commission, testified that he
    was contacted by the Commission’s Cleveland office to investigate a complaint made by
    6
    Morehead that Tabassum had cashed his ticket at his store and withheld money for taxes. Morris
    further testified as to the proper procedure for obtaining winnings of $600 or more from an
    instant ticket. In such circumstances, the winner would take the ticket to an authorized lottery
    retailer. The retailer would then print a “pay to the bearer and claim” form, which the winner
    would take to a bank to obtain the prize money. Although the lottery ticket should be signed, it
    is not necessary for the winner to do so. No money is withheld from the winnings for tax
    purposes. The rules as to cashing tickets of particular winning amounts are explained to lottery
    retailers.
    {¶17} Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the State
    provided sufficient evidence that Morehead was a “disabled adult.” Morehead and Wamsley
    both testified that Morehead suffers from certain conditions due to a childhood accident. Both
    testified that Morehead does not work and receives Social Security and SSI due to his conditions.
    A    jury    could   reasonably   infer   that   Morehead’s   conditions   prevented   him    from
    “working at substantially remunerative employment,” and that these conditions would continue
    for a period longer than twelve months. Further, a reasonable juror could determine that neither
    panhandling nor the “side jobs” to which were testified constitute “substantially remunerative
    employment.” Therefore, there was sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that
    Morehead suffered from an impairment of the sort set forth within the statute. Because the
    statute requires either proof of such an impairment or certification of a disability, the State was
    not required to provide certification.
    {¶18} Further, the State provided sufficient evidence that Tabassum engaged in
    deception by making false representations that he could withhold taxes from lottery winnings
    and that a lottery retailer is permitted to cash a lottery ticket in the amount of $1000. Morris
    7
    testified that neither course of action is permitted of lottery retailers. Morehead testified that
    Tabassum cashed the ticket and withheld $300 for taxes. Harris and Wamsley confirmed that
    Morehead told them that he had won money on a lottery ticket, from which the lottery “agent”
    had withheld $300 for taxes. Further, Harris, Wamsley, and Conley testified that Morehead had
    a significant amount of cash on the evening of January 22, 2010, which was out of the ordinary
    for Morehead.
    {¶19} Accordingly, Tabassum’s first and second assignments of error are overruled.
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR IV
    “THE CONVICTION OF [] TABASSUM WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY
    SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE AND WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT
    OF THE EVIDENCE.”
    {¶20} In his fourth assignment of error, Tabassum argues that his conviction was against
    the manifest weight of the evidence. We disagree. Although his assignment further specifies his
    conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence, his argument does not address this point,
    and, as we have already addressed his arguments as to the sufficiency of the evidence regarding
    the elements of “deception” and “disabled adult,” we decline to further address the sufficiency of
    the evidence. See App.R. 16(A)(7) and App.R. 12(A)(2).
    {¶21} When a defendant asserts that his conviction is against the manifest weight of the
    evidence,
    “an appellate court must review the entire record, weigh the evidence and all
    reasonable inferences, consider the credibility of witnesses and determine
    whether, in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the trier of fact clearly lost its way
    and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be
    reversed and a new trial ordered.” State v. Otten (1986), 
    33 Ohio App. 3d 339
    ,
    340.
    {¶22} In making this determination, this Court is mindful that “[e]valuating evidence
    and assessing credibility are primarily for the trier of fact.” State v. Shue (1994), 
    97 Ohio 8
    App.3d 459, 466, citing Ostendorf-Morris Co. v. Slyman (1982), 
    6 Ohio App. 3d 46
    , 47 and Crull
    v. Maple Park Body Shop (1987), 
    36 Ohio App. 3d 153
    , 154.
    {¶23} At trial Tabassum provided the testimony of himself, Charles Shanafelt, and
    Joshua Clark. Tabassum testified that on January 22, 2010, he, Morehead, Shanafelt, and Clark
    were present in the South Street Express. Morehead and Tabassum were playing lottery instant
    win tickets. Tabassum won $1000 on one of his tickets, and Morehead seemed unhappy about
    Tabassum’s win. Morehead asked Tabassum to “hook him up.” The next day, Morehead
    returned to South Street Express when Tabassum was opening up the store. Morehead told
    Tabassum to give him some money, and Tabassum offered him $20. Morehead declined and
    demanded more money, and Tabassum told him that he would not give him more money.
    Morehead became angry, and Tabassum put the $20 back and told Morehead that he would not
    give him any money. Morehead left. A few days later, Morehead called Tabassum demanding
    $300 because “the ticket could have been [Morehead’s].” Tabassum replied that it was his
    ticket, and Morehead again became angry and stated that he was going to “bring the business
    down.”
    {¶24} Charles Shanafelt testified that he regularly patronizes the South Street Express,
    and he knows Tabassum from his frequent visits to his store.          Shanafelt is familiar with
    Morehead from the area and the store, and he has observed Morehead to become agitated and
    “temperamental.” On the date at issue, Shanafelt was in South Street Express when Tabassum
    and Morehead were there. Morehead was not winning on his lottery tickets, and he threw them
    in the trash in an angry way. Tabassum was also playing lottery tickets, and said that he “hit,”
    and was smiling and held up the ticket. Morehead seemed disappointed about Tabassum’s win.
    9
    {¶25} Joshua Clark testified that he was working at South Street Express on January 22,
    2010. He had been working there for about one week. Clark was familiar with Morehead from
    his presence in the neighborhood. He described Morehead as “an angry person.” On the day at
    issue, Tabassum was playing instant lottery tickets and won. Morehead was also at the store
    playing lottery tickets, and he was losing and grumbling and grunting, and threw his tickets into
    the trash can.
    {¶26} On cross-examination of the State’s and defense witnesses, each party cast doubt
    upon the opposing witnesses’ credibility. However, we have repeatedly stated that “the trier of
    fact is in the best position to determine the credibility of witnesses and evaluate their testimony
    accordingly.” State v. Johnson, 9th Dist. No. 25161, 2010-Ohio-3296, at ¶15. Further, the trier
    of fact, here the jury, “has the right to place considerable weight on the testimony of the victim.”
    State v. Felder (July 29, 1992), 9th Dist. No. 91CA005230, at *1.
    {¶27} After reviewing the entire record, weighing the inferences and examining the
    credibility of witnesses, we cannot say that the jury’s resolution of the conflicting testimony was
    unreasonable. Consequently, this is not the exceptional case where the jury clearly lost its way
    and created a manifest miscarriage of justice in finding Tabassum guilty of theft from a disabled
    adult. Although inconsistencies existed between the witnesses’ testimony, “the jury is free to
    believe all, part, or none of the testimony of each witness.” (Quotations and citations omitted.)
    State v. Cross, 9th Dist. No. 25487, 2011-Ohio-3250, at ¶35. Where the evidence indicates that a
    jury could reasonably choose between the State’s or the defendant’s version of the events, “[a]
    conviction is not against the manifest weight because the jury chose to credit the State’s version
    of events.” State v. Peasley, 9th Dist. No. 25062, 2010-Ohio-4333, at ¶18, citing State v.
    10
    Morgan, 9th Dist. No. 22848, 2006-Ohio-3921, at ¶35.            Accordingly, Tabassum’s fourth
    assignment of error is overruled.
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR III
    “[]THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED PLAIN IF NOT STRUCTURAL
    ERROR WHEN IT OMITTED BASIC DEFINITIONS IN THE JURY
    INSTRUCTIONS AND, IN EFFECT, CHARGED FOR AN OFFENSE NOT
    INDICTED.[] THE COURT ERRONEOULSY CHANGED THE WORDING OF
    THE STATUTE WHICH DEFINES A DISABLED ADULT IN ITS
    INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JURY WHEN IT IMPERMISSIBLY
    SUBSTITUTED THE WORD ‘UNFIT’ FOR ‘UNABLE’ []. THIS CHANGE IN
    WORDING MISLEADS THE JURY AS THE PLAIN MEANING OF THE
    WORDS ACCORDING TO THE DICTIONARY ARE NOT THE SAME AND
    ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.”
    {¶28} In his third assignment of error, Tabassum argues that that trial court erred in its
    instructions to the jury by deviating from the statutory language defining a “disabled adult.” We
    disagree.
    {¶29} Tabassum failed to object to the jury instruction of which he now complains.
    Where a party has failed to raise an objection in the trial court, the objection may still be
    assigned as error on appeal if a showing of plain error is made. State v. Hairston, 9th Dist. No.
    05CA008768, 2006-Ohio-4925, at ¶9; Crim.R. 52(B). However, notice of a plain error is taken
    with the utmost caution and only to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice. State v. Bray, 9th
    Dist. No. 03CA008241, 2004-Ohio-1067, at ¶12. Therefore, we will not reverse the trial court
    decision unless it has been established that the trial court outcome clearly would have been
    different but for the alleged error. 
    Id. {¶30} Here,
    the trial court instructed the jury that a disabled adult is “a person who is 18
    years of age or older who has some impairment of body or mind that makes the person unfit to
    work at any substantially remunerative employment that the person otherwise would be able to
    perform and that will, with reasonable probability, continue for a period of at least 12 months
    11
    without any present indication of recovery from the impairment, or who is 18 years of age or
    older and has been certified as permanently and totally disabled by an agency of the State or the
    United States that has the function of so classifying persons.” Tabassum argues that the court
    erred by utilizing the word “unfit” in the instructions, instead of the term “unable," as used in the
    statutory definition. Tabassum argues that this alleged error is “plain error now because not only
    has the first part of the statute been rendered wrong but also the statutory language says ‘and’
    which requires certification where none was given in this case.”
    {¶31} However, as set forth in our discussion of Tabassum’s first and second
    assignments of error, the statutory definition provides that a disabled adult is a person eighteen
    years of age or older who suffers from an impairment of the type therein set forth “or” who has
    been certified as disabled by an appropriate state or federal agency. R.C. 2913.01(D)(D). In
    regard to the trial court’s use of the term “unfit” instead of “unable,” the dictionary definitions of
    these words is very similar.        Webster’s definition of “unfit” includes “incapable” and
    “incompetent;” whereas its definition of “unable” likewise includes “incapable” and
    “incompetent.”     Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2005) 1359, 1367.
    Therefore, we cannot say that the trial court use of the term “unfit” instead of “unable”
    constituted plain error. In any event, Tabassum has provided no indication of how the result of
    the trial would have been different if the trial court had utilized the term “unable.” Accordingly,
    Tabassum’s third assignment of error is overruled.
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR V
    “[] TABASSUM WAS DENIED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO A FAIR
    TRIAL UNDER THE SIXTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS
    BECAUSE OF PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AT TRIAL AND DURING
    CLOSING ARGUMENT WHEN HE PRESENTED HYPOTHETICALS
    DURING THE TRIAL WHICH HAD NO BASIS IN FACT OR LAW
    12
    ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CASE AND ONLY SERVED TO PREJUDICE OR
    BIAS THE JURY.”
    {¶32} In his fifth assignment of error, Tabassum argues that he was denied a fair trial
    because the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct when it utilized a hypothetical situation
    during redirect examination of Morris. We disagree. Although Tabassum further sets forth
    alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments in his assignment of error, he has
    provided no argument on this point, and, accordingly, we will limit our discussion to the
    purported prosecutorial misconduct during redirect examination.          See App.R. 16(A)(7) and
    App.R. 12(A)(2).
    {¶33} “The conduct of a prosecuting attorney during trial cannot be made a ground of
    error unless that conduct deprives the defendant of a fair trial.” State v. Papp (1978), 64 Ohio
    App.2d 203, 211. The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that but for the
    prosecutor’s misconduct, the result of the proceeding would have been different. State v. Loza
    (1994), 
    71 Ohio St. 3d 61
    , 78. Here, in support of his argument, Tabassum cites to the following
    questions posed by the prosecution during redirect examination of Morris:
    “Q.    I think you just talked about, on cross, how[ ]Tabassum could make the
    claim on the ticket, right, to a bank?
    “A.    Yes.
    “Q.    And, in fact, we talked in direct that he did fill out a claim for the ticket?
    “A.    Yes.
    “Q.     Based on your knowledge of the lottery, does anything prevent[ ]
    Tabassum from having paid somebody $700 for that ticket, kept it, and then made
    the claim himself to you at the bank?
    “A.    There’s rules regarding that.
    “Q.   Aside from the rules, if he had done that, would it look like, as far as your
    paperwork says, that he claimed the $1000 ticket?
    13
    “A.     Yes.”
    At this point, the defense objected on the basis that the questioning was purely hypothetical, and
    the court overruled the objection.
    {¶34} Assuming without deciding that the hypothetical question was improper, we
    cannot say that it deprived Tabassum of a fair trial. Tabassum has failed to demonstrate that
    there is a reasonable probability that but for the prosecutor’s use of the above quoted
    hypothetical during redirect examination, the result of the proceeding would have been different.
    See 
    Loza, 71 Ohio St. 3d at 78
    . Accordingly, Tabassum’s fifth assignment of error is overruled.
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR VI
    “THE PROSECUTION HAD OPEN FILE DISCOVERY, WHICH REQUIRED
    THE PROSECUTION TO GIVE TO THE DEFENSE ANY EXCULPATORY
    EVIDENCE IT MAY HAVE. I[N] THIS CASE, THE SIGNED LOTTERY
    TICKET WAS IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROSECUTION BUT WAS
    NOT MADE AVAILABLE TO THE DEFENSE FOR REVIEW.”
    {¶35} In his final assignment of error, Tabassum argues that the prosecution failed to
    provide the signed lottery ticket, which he alleges was exculpatory evidence. We disagree.
    {¶36} Crim.R. 16(B), provides in relevant part,
    “Upon receipt of a written demand for discovery by the defendant, and except as
    provided in * * * this rule, the prosecuting attorney shall provide copies or
    photographs, or permit counsel for the defendant to copy or photograph, the
    following items related to the particular case indictment, information, or
    complaint, and which are material to the preparation of a defense, or are intended
    for use by the prosecuting attorney as evidence at the trial, or were obtained from
    or belong to the defendant, within the possession of, or reasonably available to the
    state[.]”
    {¶37} “Potentially exculpatory evidence subject to disclosure under Crim.R. 16 is
    material ‘only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the
    defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.’” State v. Iacona (Mar. 15,
    2000), 9th Dist. No. CA 2891-M, at *5, quoting State v. Johnston (1988), 
    39 Ohio St. 3d 48
    .
    14
    {¶38} We observe that Tabassum’s argument is predicated upon the assumption that the
    State actually had possession of the lottery ticket. However, there is nothing in the record that
    suggests that the State possessed and also withheld the lottery ticket from pretrial discovery.
    Furthermore, the theory of the prosecution did not turn upon who signed the lottery ticket.
    Morris acknowledged that winning tickets are often not signed. Further, Tabassum has not
    established how production of the signed ticket would demonstrate who purchased the ticket and
    who was entitled to its winnings. Therefore, we cannot say that the signed lottery ticket was
    material, as Tabassum has not shown that there is a reasonable probability that disclosure of the
    signed ticket would have changed the outcome of the proceeding. See Johnston, 39 Ohio St.3d
    at paragraph five of the syllabus.      Accordingly, Tabassum’s sixth assignment of error is
    overruled.
    III.
    {¶39} Tabassum’s assignments of error are overruled. The judgment of the Summit
    County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
    Judgment affirmed.
    There were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
    We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common
    Pleas, County of Summit, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy
    of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.
    Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of
    judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the
    period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(E). The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is
    15
    instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the
    mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30.
    Costs taxed to Appellant.
    CARLA MOORE
    FOR THE COURT
    BELFANCE, P. J.
    DICKINSON, J.
    CONCUR
    APPEARANCES:
    LYDIA EVELYN SPRAGIN, Attorney at Law, for Appellant.
    SHERRI BEVAN WALSH, Prosecuting Attorney, and HEAVEN DIMARTINO, Assistant
    Prosecuting Attorney, for Appellee.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 25568

Judges: Moore

Filed Date: 12/30/2011

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/30/2014