State v. Higgins

Summary

The Ninth District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed Thomas Higgins's conviction for corrupting another with drugs following a fentanyl overdose. The court held that Higgins knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right to counsel and that his conviction was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Holdings

1. The trial court sufficiently inquired into Higgins's waiver of counsel and properly permitted him to represent himself because the totality of the circumstances established that he knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently relinquished his right to counsel.
2. Higgins's conviction was not against the manifest weight of the evidence because the jury did not clearly lose its way or create a manifest miscarriage of justice in finding him guilty.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court sufficiently determined that Higgins knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his Sixth Amendment right to counsel before permitting him to represent himself.
2. Whether Higgins's conviction for corrupting another with drugs was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Disposition

affirmed