State v. Philpotts

2022-Ohio-4362 (Ohio 2022) · Supreme Court of Ohio · December 9, 2022 · No. 2019-1215

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio vacated the Eighth District Court of Appeals’ judgment and remanded the case for reconsideration in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen. The case concerns a Second Amendment challenge to Ohio Revised Code 2923.13(A)(2), which prohibits having a weapon while under disability. Separate opinions dissented from remanding only to the court of appeals rather than to the trial court.

Court
Supreme Court of Ohio
Writing for the Court
Maureen O'Connor, Chief Justice; Jennifer Brunner, Justice; Patrick F. Fischer, Justice; Michael P. Donnelly, Justice; Pat DeWine, Justice; Sharon L. Kennedy, Justice; Melody J. Stewart, Justice
Jurisdiction
Ohio
Decision date
December 9, 2022
Docket number
2019-1215
Procedural posture
Philpotts appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio from the Eighth District Court of Appeals' affirmance of his weapons-under-disability conviction and rejection of his Second Amendment challenges. The Supreme Court vacated the appellate judgment and remanded for reconsideration in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen.
Precedential value
Published and precedential Supreme Court of Ohio opinion
Parties
Delvonte Philpotts v. The State of Ohio
Disposition
vacated

Topics

second amendmentconstitutional lawappellate procedurecriminal procedurestandard of review

Practice areas

constitutional lawcriminal lawappellate law

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the Eighth District's judgment rejecting Philpotts's Second Amendment challenge to Ohio Revised Code § 2923.13(A)(2) should be reconsidered in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen.
  2. Whether the judgment should be remanded to the trial court rather than the court of appeals because Bruen changed the allocation of the burden of proof in Second Amendment challenges.

Holdings

  1. The judgment of the Eighth District Court of Appeals is vacated, and the cause is remanded to that court for reconsideration in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen.

Key quotations

The judgment of the court of appeals is vacated, and the cause is remanded to the court of appeals for reconsideration in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen. (¶ 1)

Factual background

In August 2017, Delvonte Philpotts was indicted for having a weapon while under disability based on possessing a handgun while under indictment for other crimes. Those other charges were later dismissed without prejudice. Philpotts pleaded no contest to the weapons-under-disability charge and was sentenced to three years of community control.

Procedural history

Philpotts was indicted in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for having a weapon while under disability under Ohio Revised Code § 2923.13(A)(2), pleaded no contest, and received three years of community control. The Eighth District affirmed his conviction and rejected his constitutional challenges. The Supreme Court of Ohio accepted the appeal, initially held it for State v. Weber, later lifted the hold, ordered supplemental briefing on Bruen, and then vacated and remanded the Eighth District's judgment for reconsideration.

Remand instructions

The Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County, Eighth District, must reconsider its judgment in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen.

Court Document

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