Case Results

Case History: Our client shared a child in common with another person. For years, they were able to amicably share custody of their child and work out a schedule regarding shared parenting time. The two agreed to be flexible with each other’s schedules, until our client’s ex abruptly insisted on keeping the child longer than the previously agreed upon schedule. Our client objected to the additional days, and the ex’s new spouse interfered. This ultimately resulted in our client being physically assaulted. Our client called the police to report the assault, only to discover the ex went directly to the police department at the same time to file for a protective order. The ex and the new spouse manipulated the facts and alleged our client was the aggressor.

Our Defense: After the initial meeting with our client, it was clear the allegations were completely false and our client did not do the things that were alleged. We were able to obtain police reports, 911 calls, and locate a witness to the assault. Using that information, along with the information we gathered from our own independent investigation into the accusers, we were able to fully prepare for the hearing in order to advocate on our client’s behalf. The evidence we were able to obtain clearly showed our client was the victim of not only an assault, but also to the filing of a false police report in an attempt by the ex to obtain custody of their child. At the hearing, we were able to argue our position, without even having to put our client on the witness stand. The Judge agreed with our position and dismissed the case against our client.

Case History: Our client had recently endured a tumultuous divorce and was in the middle of contested custody proceedings. During the family court proceedings, allegations were made against our client for inappropriately touching the children. The police showed up in the early morning hours, woke everyone in the household up, and began investigating the allegations criminally, which also included CPS involvement. Our client adamantly denied all allegations.

Our Defense: We immediately contacted the detective investigating the case, as well as the social worker assigned to the matter and informed them of our involvement. From that point forward, the authorities could not bully our client any longer and instead had to communicate directly with us. This was imperative because before our involvement, our client was being misinformed and taken advantage by the police and social workers investigating the case. Next, we gathered all information we could regarding the contentious divorce and our client’s ex-spouse, as well as information regarding all other parties involved. We discovered our client to be a loving parent who provided a safe environment. Our client always put the children first and only wanted what was in their best interest. We also discovered there was something “off” about the allegations and they did not make sense. As the investigation progressed, we maintained contact with the police and social workers. We continually advocated on our client’s behalf and outlined how the allegations were fabricated for an advantage in the custody proceedings. After many months of asserting our client’s innocence, CPS and the police finally agreed and dropped all charges. CPS unsubstantiated the allegations against our client and the police closed the investigation without any criminal charges being filed.

Case History: Our client was attending college on a scholarship and was heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Our client was very outgoing and made numerous acquaintances in the first few months school was in session. One day, out of the blue, our client received notice there was an investigation being conducted alleging our client had raped another student at the university. This allegation not only triggered police involvement for criminal charges, but it also put our client’s academic future in jeopardy as a Title IX action was initiated against our client through the University’s policies and procedures.

Our Defense: We immediately put both the university and the police agency investigating the matter on notice no one was permitted to contact our client without our presence. Essentially, we cut off all contact between our client and the investigative agencies. Next, we began walking through our client’s every move in an attempt to figure out who would make such a serious allegation. Our client was at a loss and adamantly denied any inappropriate behavior ever occurred with anyone. Our client had never encountered anything like this and such situation caused our client great stress. We met with the school’s investigation committee and advocated on our client’s behalf. The school wanted to restrict our client’s access to certain areas around the campus and issue no contact orders with other students. This was unacceptable as our client was being wrongfully accused. Once we discovered who the accuser was, we began looking into that person’s background. We quickly discovered this person had a crush on our client and our client only wanted a non-romantic friendship, which hurt the accuser’s feelings. Our client cut off all contact with the accuser and the accuser began contacting our client daily. The accuser would even post pictures and videos onto our client’s social media accounts in an attempt to elicit a response. The accuser appeared desperate and obsessed with our client. When our client did not return the sentiment, the accuser contacted the authorities and alleged rape. After the meeting with school personnel, we also tracked down all records of the report, including witness statements and summaries of the allegations from the police department. There were many inconsistencies in the accuser’s story and our client had an alibi for the date in question. We presented our findings to the investigative committee and requested the Title IX action as well as all adverse actions taken against our client, including all school disciplinary measures and the threat of criminal charges be dismissed immediately. After numerous meetings and an abundance of written correspondence with school officials, the school agreed with our position and closed the investigation by dismissing the Title IX action. In addition, the criminal investigation was also closed without any criminal charges being filed against our client.

Case History: Our client began relationship with another person after meeting through mutual friends. Most of their conversations took place via social media and text messages. Both were adults and the conversations were sexually charged in nature. They went out on several dates together during the relationship. One of the date nights entailed going to our client’s home to hang out and watch a movie. During the movie the other person initiated sexual contact with our client. Both adults mutually agreed to the sexual acts. After the sexual encounter, they enjoyed a meal together and our client drove the other person home at the end of the evening. The next day our client received a message from a mutual friend accusing our client of taking advantage of the other person. Our client denied any impropriety and explained every detail of the evening to the mutual friend. Shortly thereafter a detective contacted our client requesting an interview based upon a rape investigation, which the client scheduled for a future date. The client immediately contacted our firm after scheduling the interview with the police.

Our Defense: We immediately contacted the detective conducting the investigation and canceled the interview. We then began our own independent investigation into the background of the accuser. We quickly discovered the accuser had an extensive history of mental health issues. The psychological issues caused this accuser to be untruthful. Further, we discovered numerous inconsistencies with the allegations. Since the majority of the communications were in written form, we were able to contradict almost everything asserted by the accuser. After investigating the accuser, we contacted the detective and explained our findings. We also provided our client’s side of the story to the detective. Our client never met with the detective or communicated with the detective directly once we became involved. Instead, we communicated on our client’s behalf at every stage. After numerous communications with the detective and the Commonwealth, it was ultimately agreed that our client did not do anything improper and the case was closed without an arrest or criminal charges.

Case History: Our client was stopped for crossing over a line coming into a turning lane, something we all do on a daily basis. The client admitted to having two beers with dinner. The client refused to submit to a breathalyzer test and performed all field sobriety tests administered by the officer. Our client was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

Our Defense: We focused our defense one two issues. First the State could not prove our client was over the legal limit for blood alcohol content. Second the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his ability to drive was substantially impaired. Through cross examination of the arresting police officer, as well as pointing to numerous facts shown on the cruiser video, the Court could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that our client was over the legal limit or that he was substantially impaired. A not guilty verdict was rendered.

Case History: Our client, the father of a child, was accused of assault by his child's maternal grandfather, for a dispute during an exchange of the child between parents.

Our Defense: We contended these allegations were simply a ploy to gain custody by one parent. The testimony of the accusing parent and grandparent were suspect and we argued this to the court. Further, the State was unable to prove any injuries to the alleged victim. In the end, our client was found not guilty at trial.

Case History: Our client had consensual sexual contact with an adult woman. The State alleged this woman did not have the mental capacity to consent and that our client new of this diminished capacity. Our client and the accuser attended the same school. Our client was in the process of applying for government jobs as a firefighter but was denied employment until the case was resolved.

Our Defense: It was our defense that this woman did in fact have the mental capacity to consent and even if she did not, our client did not know of this mental defect. We hired an expert to evaluate the case and determine the ability to consent to sexual contact. However, at trial, we did not need to call our expert to testify as we turned the State's own expert into an expert on our behalf. Essentially, the State's expert was forced to concede under our cross examination that the accuser did possess the mental capacity to consent to sex. We proved the woman did have the capacity to consent sex and our client did not know of any diminished capacity. Our client was found not guilty.

Case History: Our client was the passenger in a vehicle traveling on I-75. The vehicle was stopped and searched. A large amount of prescription drugs were found in the vehicle. Both the driver and the passenger (our client) were arrested and charged with possession of drugs. Both defendants were represented by the same attorney at the trial level (not an attorney associated with our firm). Our client was offered a plea bargain with a probation sentence, but declined the offer and both defendants were found guilty by a jury at trial.

Our Defense: On appeal we argued it was ineffective assistance of counsel for our client to be jointly represented by an attorney along with the co-defendant especially at the plea bargaining stage. Our client's Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel was violated by this joint representation. One attorney could not effectively advise our client regarding a beneficial plea bargain which required our client to testify against the co-defendant which co-defendant also represented by the same attorney. Even though both defendants agreed to joint representation, our argument convinced the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Third Appellate District to overturn the conviction.

Case History: Our client was in a non-exclusive romantic relationship for several years. In early 2016, the significant other’s best friend initiated sexual conversations with our client. This escalated into sending nude pictures and increased sexually charged conversations. Shortly thereafter, our client along with the significant other, the significant other’s best friend, and a friend of our client were hanging out and drinking at the friend’s residence. While the significant other was asleep in another room, our client and the significant other’s best friend began having sex in the bedroom, while our client’s friend began recording the sexual act on a cell phone. The significant other heard the sexual encounter, barged into the bedroom, became visibly upset at the situation and punched both parties in the face. Once this occurred, the significant other’s best friend accused our client of rape in order to salvage the relationship with the best friend.

Our Defense: The State of Ohio charged our client with two counts of rape; one by force and one alleging the accuser was too intoxicated to consent to the sex act. We knew if our client was convicted of either count, it would completely destroy our client’s life and our client would likely spend decades in prison, so we immediately began investigating the background of the accuser as well as all parties present during the interaction. In addition, we filed numerous motions on our client’s behalf in order to eliminate all irrelevant and prejudicial evidence. The case progressed to trial in early 2018 where we exhibited evidence the accuser had sex with our client’s friend a few minutes prior to engaging in sexual intercourse with our client. Further, the accuser stated the sexual act with the friend was consensual, thereby negating the charge of being too intoxicated to consent. We also pointed to the video, which clearly showed a non-forcible sex act, where the accuser is heard moaning. During our cross examination of the accuser, we elicited numerous inconsistencies in the accuser’s story and we were able to attack the accuser’s credibility. After a five-day trial, the jury deliberated for approximately ten hours and could not reach a verdict. The Judge declared a mistrial.

The State of Ohio elected to bring the case again. We basically started the case over from the beginning and had to re-wind everything. Therefore, we again filed numerous motions on our client’s behalf as well as advocated on our client’s behalf at every step of the process. In addition, we investigated the backgrounds of all witnesses and performed our own independent research with the use of experts for each evidentiary item anticipated to be utilized at trial. The second rape trial was set to commence at the end of the summer 2018. Our firm tenaciously defended our client during the re-trial and focused on the video, which we were able to enhance with the use of an expert for better sound quality. Also, we again vigorously cross examined all witness, including the accuser to point out the accuser’s inconsistencies and lack of credibility. After a four-day trial and several hours of deliberating, the jury found our client not guilty.