# State v. McKelton (Slip Opinion)

> Ohio Supreme Court · September 13, 2016 · 148 Ohio St. 3d 261

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9836017

## Case

- **Full name:** The State of Ohio, Appellee, v. McKelton, Appellant
- **Court:** Ohio Supreme Court
- **Decided:** September 13, 2016
- **Citations:** 148 Ohio St. 3d 261; 70 N.E.3d 508; 2016 Ohio 5735
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Pfeifer
- **Judges:** Lanzinger, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Kennedy, French, Pfeifer, O'Neill
- **Cited by:** 453 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9836017

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- reasoning that even though the record did not indicate that the murder victim was expected to testify against the defendant in a pending criminal proceeding, the defendant’s purpose in killing her could be inferred from evidence indicating that he was trying to isolate the vic…
- stating that “unless another hearsay exception applies, a party may not interrogate his own witness about a prior inconsistent statement ‘“for the purpose of offering substantive evidence against the accused”’”
- stating that an “error could only be construed as harmless where there is ‘no reasonable possibility that the improperly admitted evidence contributed to the conviction[.]’”
- stating that “Crim.R. 16 specifically contemplates nondisclosure” for justifications unrelated to the witnesses

## Opinion text

Pfeifer, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
*325 {¶ 353} I concur in the judgment of the majority affirming the determination of McKelton’s guilt. I join Justice O’Neill’s dissent regarding the inadequacy of trial counsel in the sentencing phase, except to the extent that it relies on his dissent in State v. Wogenstahl, 134 Ohio St.3d 1437 , 2013-Ohio-164 , 981 N.E.2d 900 .

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9836017. Public record. Not legal advice.