State v. Jones

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that the First District Court of Appeals applied an incorrect legal standard when denying the State leave to appeal a trial court’s order granting Elwood Jones a new trial. Under App.R. 5(C), the State must identify claimed trial-court errors and show the probability that those errors occurred, but need not establish that it would ultimately prevail. The court reversed and remanded for the court of appeals to apply the correct standard.

Holdings

1. Under App.R. 5(C), the State must identify claimed errors in the trial-court proceedings and show the probability that those claimed errors actually occurred. The rule does not require the State to establish that it would ultimately prevail on the appeal.
2. The First District abused its discretion by denying the State leave to appeal without determining whether the State had shown the probability that the claimed errors occurred.
3. At the leave-to-appeal stage, the State was not required to prove that it would ultimately reverse the new-trial order, and the First District could not deny leave solely because the State had not challenged the independent newly discovered-scientific-evidence ground.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the First District applied the correct legal standard under App.R. 5(C) in reviewing the State's motion for leave to appeal the trial court's order granting Jones a new trial.
2. Whether the First District abused its discretion by denying leave to appeal without determining the probability that the alleged trial-court errors occurred.
3. Whether the First District could deny leave as futile because the State did not challenge every independent ground supporting the new-trial order.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded