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State v. Hamilton4/12/2002
This court is most reluctant to substitute its judgment for that of a jury. Nowhere is that more evident than in a murder case. The stakes are high on both sides, and for the system to truly be effective, second-guessing must be kept to an absolute minimum. In most all circumstances, justice requires that the trier of fact be given a great deal of latitude in making decisions. Thus, in most cases of this magnitude, simple errors are not only expected, but excused, provided that there has been a fair trial overall.
In cases where the evidence of guilt is clear and unequivocal, an erroneous ruling on an evidentiary matter simply does not rise to the level of tipping the scales of justice. Where there are witnesses to the crime to be believed or not believed, each individual piece of evidence loses its singular ability to carry the day. If there are ten witnesses, and only one has been erroneously handled by the trial court, we believe justice has been served, in most instances.
However, in the instant matter, there are not ten witnesses. In fact, there are no witnesses to directly testify this defendant committed this crime. Instead, there are highly probative and relevant witnesses who presented circumstantial evidence that leads to the inference that this defendant was guilty. In such a situation, where the evidence of guilt is a close call, the trial court's evidentiary rulings carry far more potential for a miscarriage of justice.
The hard evidence before this jury was that the defendant was a narcotic-smoking grandson. It is not possible for a jury to be presented with this impermissible evidence and remain impartial. A man lies dead, and his grandson was a drug addict with a fingerprint on the murder weapon.
Take away the improper character assassination evidence, and what do you have? A key witness who testifies to a key time, and gives a different version to the police and the jury. It was clearly erroneous to not permit the jury to see the inconsistent statement given to the police. If the time was not important, why was the witness on the stand? It was important, and it was error to withhold that key piece of evidence from the jury.
With reluctance, it is the opinion of this court that the conviction in this matter was not the result of a fair trial. We offer no opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant, for that is not our job. Having sustained appellant's third and fifth assignments of error, the judgment of the trial court is reversed and the case is remanded for a new trial in accordance with this opinion.
PRESIDING JUDGE WILLIAM M. O'NEILL
CHRISTLEY, J., concurs with Concurring Opinion,
NADER, J., concurs.
CONCURRING OPINION
CHRISTLEY, J.
Although I agree with the judgment ultimately reached by the majority, I write separately to emphasize the following points.
When is a fingerprint not significant in the solving of a crime? The most damning evidence against appellant was the latent fingerprint found on the murder weapon, a .38-caliber revolver. Such evidence, in most situations, constitutes overwhelming proof of guilt. However, " ingerprints corresponding to those of the accused are sufficient proof of his identity to sustain his conviction, where the circumstances show that such prints, found at the scene of the crime, could only have been impressed at the time of the commission of the crime." (Emphasis added.) State v. Miller (1977), 49 Ohio St.2d 198, syllabus.
This case presents one of those rare exceptions where the fingerprint evidence by itself was insufficient to prove appellant was guilty. Quite frank
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