For criminal defendants seeking another review of their case by the Ohio Supreme Court, their odds are slim – so long as the Court’s current trends continue.
From January to October of this year, of the 26 criminal cases the state’s highest court agreed to review on appeal, nearly 80% were brought by state prosecutors, according to public records Ohio Court Watch obtained from the Office of the Ohio Public Defender (“OPD”).
The remaining 6 appeals, or just above 20% of the cases the Court has accepted for review, were filed by criminal defendants. This represents a significant shift from the Court’s previous term, and a potential indication of its preferences as to which cases merit the distinction of a “public or great general interest.”
Moreover, of the 6 accepted cases filed by criminal defendants, half of them concerned the Second Amendment.
Part of the Ohio Supreme Court’s docket is discretionary, meaning that the Justices choose whether or not they hear the case. After a Court of Appeals rules, either party can appeal to the Supreme Court. If the case is of “public or great general interest,” the Ohio Constitution advises the Supreme Court to review it. A majority decision of 4-3 dictates whether the justices accept or deny review.
Ohio Court Watch analyzes which cases the Ohio Supreme Court finds to be of public or great general interest, and which issues are left unaddressed. Court Watch recently submitted a public records request with OPD to review criminal discretionary appeals, and whether it is more likely for the Court to accept an appeal from one side or the other.
Court Watch also requested last year’s data to review any trends that may exist. Despite a similar number of criminal appeals submitted to the Court – 462 last year and 452 so far this year – the 80 percent to 20 percent ratio of state to defense appeals accepted by the Court represents a substantial shift from the Court’s last term.
Last year, the ratio was split down the middle – exactly 50 percent to 50 percent. The Court accepted 18 criminal cases brought by the state and 18 brought by the defense, according to OPD’s records.
Ohio Court Watch presents this data to help prosecutors and defense attorneys navigate their criminal appeals, as well as to assist the Court in analyzing those appeals. Court Watch plans to request additional data from past terms, but OPD analyzes and reports this data by hand, making it an especially tedious process for greater volume requests. Nevertheless, the shift over the last two years is evident. The Court’s makeup has changed between these two terms, but myriad factors influence the Justices’ decisions, and their reasons for accepting each case remain unclear. Ohio Court Watch believes the justice system would benefit from the Ohio Supreme Court restoring its former balance.