State v. Trimble

How later courts described this case

• concluding that Reckless Homicide is a lesser-included offense of felony murder, because, among other things, “a defendant cannot cause the death of a person under R.C. 2903.01(B) without also causing the death of that person under R.C. 2903.041. In purposely causing the death of another, one has to first become reckless in causing the death of another.”
• holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defense counsel’s motion for a mistrial because “[n]othing in the record shows that the outburst had any effect on the jury” and “the trial court’s admonitions focused the jury on the evidence and away from the outburst.”
• determining that defendant could not establish prejudice resulting from trial counsel’s failure to excuse jurors when jurors indicated that they could decide the case based upon the facts presented at trial and could fairly and impartially decide the case
• concluding that, even if trial court’s refusal to instruct on reckless homicide was error, it was harmless because the jury could have found defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter instead of aggravated murder

Written by the judges who cited it.