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Judges hold victim's testimony was enough to convict man of domestic violence
JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: May 21, 2013
The 5th District Court of Appeals recently affirmed that a victim’s testimony was enough evidence to convict a Stark County man of domestic violence.
The three-judge appellate panel rejected Jason Holbrook’s claims that his conviction for slapping his girlfriend was against the manifest weight of the evidence.
“Upon review, we find sufficient evidence of an event that meets the definition of ‘physical harm,’ a slapping, and no manifest miscarriage of justice,” 5th District Judge Sheila Farmer wrote for the court.
According to case summary, Holbrook, 38 at the time of his charges, was in a relationship with a 19-year-old woman in July 2012.
The woman claimed that she and Holbrook were having an argument when he slapped her across the face.
Holbrook was charged with one count of domestic violence and the matter proceeded to a jury trial in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas.
At trial, the woman stated she was seven months pregnant at the time of incident.
“Jason had been drinking, and we had gotten into an argument; and I went to go call my mom to tell her to come pick me up. He told me to get away from the phone, and I wouldn’t. So he had hit me across the face,” she testified.
The jury found Holbrook guilty of his charge and he was sentenced to 12 months in prison. On appeal to the 5th District, Holbrook argued that his conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence.
“Appellant was convicted of domestic violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A) which states, ‘no person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a family or household member,’” Farmer stated.
The judges held that physical harm could be described as any injury, regardless of its severity or duration.
Holbrook argued that because his girlfriend was the only witness who testified to any injury, that the evidence was insufficient to establish physical harm.
The judges found that most of the responding officers denied seeing any physical marks on the victim. One of the officers, however did observe a slight injury.
“We note the weight to be given to the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses are issues for the trier of fact,” Farmer wrote.
The appellate panel maintained that the jury was in the best position to judge the woman’s credibility and that it was within the jury’s discretion to rely on her testimony.
Based on the woman’s testimony, it held that the evidence was enough to show physical harm.
“The judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Stark County, Ohio is hereby affirmed.”
Fellow 10th District Judge John Wise and Presiding Judge William Hoffman joined Farmer to form the majority.
The case is cited State v. Holbrook, case No. 2013-Ohio-1870.
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