Court Opinion

ID: 9382020
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-24 16:05:47.983882+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:36.487078
License: Public Domain

[Cite as State v. Jewett, 2023-Ohio-969.]

                              IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
                                 FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
                                       SCIOTO COUNTY

State of Ohio,                              :     Case No. 22CA4004

        Plaintiff-Appellee,                 :     DECISION AND
                                                  JUDGMENT ENTRY
        v.                                  :

Tyronn Jewett,                              :     RELEASED 3/22/2023

        Defendant-Appellant.                :

______________________________________________________________________
                            APPEARANCES:

Tyronn Jewett, Caldwell, Ohio, pro se.

Shane A. Tieman, Prosecuting Attorney, and Jay Willis, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney,
Portsmouth, Ohio, for appellee.
______________________________________________________________________
Hess, J.

        {¶1}     Tyronn Jewett appeals from a judgment of the Scioto County Common

Pleas Court denying his motion for leave to file a motion for a new trial on the ground that

Jewett failed to show that he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence

upon which he contends his conviction and sentence should be vacated. In his sole

assignment of error, Jewett contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying him

leave without an evidentiary hearing. However, Crim.R. 33 does not require the trial court

to conduct an evidentiary hearing. Here the trial court made its determination based upon

the merits of the motion and the attached documents. The documents Jewett submitted

related to his trial judge’s substance abuse dating back to 2013, two years prior to Jewett’s

indictment. Jewett failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he was
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                                   2

unavoidably prevented from the discovery of the evidence upon which he relies to support

his motion; the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied his motion without an

evidentiary hearing. We overrule the assignment of error and affirm the judgment of the

trial court.

                          I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY1

        {¶2}    On April 16, 2015, the Scioto County grand jury returned a 46-count

indictment against Jewett and 23 other defendants. The indictment charged Jewett with

41 counts and various specifications. A jury returned verdicts finding Jewett guilty of 33

of the counts and various specifications. On September 22, 2015, the trial court

sentenced Jewett to an aggregate prison term of 40 years, with 16 years being

mandatory. Jewett filed a direct appeal of the judgment of conviction, and we affirmed it.

State v. Jewett, 4th Dist. Scioto No. 15CA3714, 2017-Ohio-2891. Jewett then appealed

to the Supreme Court of Ohio, which declined to accept jurisdiction. State v. Jewett, 150

Ohio St.3d 1444, 2017-Ohio-7843, 82 N.E.3d 1177.

        {¶3}    In 2015, Jewett filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United States District

Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Jewett v. Warden, S.D.Ohio No. 1:18-cv-406, 2020

WL 5960913, *4 (Oct. 8, 2020). Ultimately, the district court stayed further consideration

of the petition so that Jewett could exhaust his state court remedies. Id. at *11.

        {¶4}    In February 2022, approximately four months after the district court’s

decision, Jewett filed a petition for postconviction relief “pursuant to R.C. 2953.23(A)(1)”

in the Scioto County Court of Common Pleas. Jewett alleged that he was unavoidably

prevented from discovery of the facts upon which he had to rely to present his claim for

1The facts and procedural history are largely taken from State v. Jewett, 4th Dist. Scioto No. 22CA3976,
2022-Ohio-2612.
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                 3

relief. Jewett claimed that he had been denied due process and a fair trial because Judge

Marshall “complained of being tired during trial, and made numerous unsound evidentiary

decisions due to suffering from ‘long-term abuse of alcohol’ called ‘alcohol

encephalopathy,’ also known as ‘wet brain.’ ” Jewett asserted that if he had known about

Judge Marshall’s alcoholism, he would have “motioned for recusal.” In addition, Jewett

asserted that his trial counsel was ineffective for not moving for Judge Marshall’s recusal

because counsel should have known that Judge Marshall had been “convicted of DUI,”

had been “in rehab,” and was publicly reprimanded by “disciplinary counsel” on April 1,

2015. Jewett claimed Judge Marshall “was clearly incapable of making impartial

evidentiary decisions.”

       {¶5}   Jewett attached a number of documents to his petition for post-conviction

relief. Jewett, 2022-Ohio-2612, ¶ 5-7. In Jewett, we described those documents as

follows:

       There are excerpts from the trial transcript. There are two WSAZ news
       articles from January 2013 about Judge Marshall’s arrest for operating a
       vehicle under the influence (“OVI”) after crashing his car. There is a copy
       of Disciplinary Counsel v. Marshall, 143 Ohio St.3d 62, 2015-Ohio-1187, 34
       N.E.3d 110 (“Marshall”), an April 1, 2015 decision of the Supreme Court of
       Ohio. The decision states that Judge Marshall pleaded guilty to the OVI
       charge on March 8, 2013, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 87 days
       suspended, and was placed on unsupervised probation for up to 60 months.
       Marshall at ¶ 3. The Supreme Court of Ohio “publicly reprimanded” Judge
       Marshall for violating two Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct rules by operating
       a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Id. at ¶ 8. In selecting this
       sanction, the court noted that Judge Marshall had “voluntarily contacted the
       Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program (“OLAP”) to address his alcoholism.” Id.
       at ¶ 6.

       There is a May 15, 2019 Cincinnati Enquirer article which discusses a
       February 2019 guardianship case Judge Marshall’s family filed to have him
       found incompetent and take control of his personal and financial affairs.
       The article states that according to “[l]egal experts,” cases overseen by
       Judge Marshall “could now be called into question because his family is now
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                  4

       accusing him of coming to work drunk.” There is a June 13, 2019 Cincinnati
       Enquirer article which also discusses the “allegations” of Judge Marshall’s
       alcoholism. The article states that “probate court documents” in the
       guardianship case “which were recently unredacted after The Enquirer
       threatened legal action, show how severe Marshall’s alcoholism had
       progressed earlier this year.” According to the article, a ”court-appointed
       investigator wrote that Marshall suffered from alcoholic encephalopathy and
       ‘wet brain,’ a condition brought on by extreme drinking that limits the brain’s
       ability to * * * function even when the subject is sober.” The article states
       that court documents indicate that Judge Marshall was “first hospitalized for
       alcoholism” in 2013 and “was hospitalized for his addiction at least three
       times after 2013 when he crashed his car and was convicted for driving
       under the influence.” The article also states that the Supreme Court of Ohio
       “reprimanded Marshall for the incident and his court sentence included
       mandatory rehab.” The petition attachments also include a copy of the 2019
       motion for emergency guardianship and a partial copy of an affidavit in
       which Judge Marshall’s mother purportedly averred that in the five
       preceding years, Judge Marshall “entered substance abuse rehab centers
       on three different occasions” and “reportedly has had many occasions
       where he * * * showed up to work while under the influence.” She also
       purportedly averred that he was hospitalized in January 2019 “for being in
       an alcohol induced coma. He has been diagnosed as suffering from alcohol
       encephalopathy and hepatic encephalopathy.”

       The attachments also include a June 16, 2019 Fox News article which
       discusses information the Cincinnati Enquirer reported about Judge
       Marshall. There is September 5, 2019 Cincinnati Enquirer article about
       Judge Marshall crashing his truck and RV trailer and being charged with
       operating a vehicle without reasonable control. Finally, there is an April 21,
       2020 article from The Daily Independent which discusses Judge Marshall’s
       failed bid to have his law license reinstated following a February 2019
       suspension for misconduct related to a traffic ticket his daughter received.
       The article mentions the 2015 public reprimand and states that “[r]ecords
       from that case show following the [2013] crash, Marshall checked [into]
       detox, then attended a treatment program at the Cleveland Clinic. After a
       brief relapse, he checked into a local treatment program.”

Id.

       {¶6}   The trial court denied Jewett’s petition on the grounds that it was untimely

and barred by res judicata. Jewett appealed. We held, “Jewett failed to show that he was

unavoidably prevented from discovery of the facts upon which he had to rely to present

his claim for relief.” Jewett, 2022-Ohio-2612, ¶ 17. We affirmed the trial court’s decision,
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                     5

modified to reflect a dismissal of the petition for lack of jurisdiction instead of a denial of

it. Jewett at ¶ 22.

       {¶7}    In August 2022, a month after our decision was issued in his appeal of the

denial of his postconviction petition, Jewett filed a motion for leave to file a motion for a

new trial under Crim.R. 33(B) in the Scioto County Common Pleas Court. He submitted

the same 2019 probate guardianship application and related news articles from 2019 that

he previously submitted with his postconviction petition, which we described above. But,

he did not submit the excerpts of trial transcripts from his September 2015 trial, the two

WSAZ news articles from January 2013 reporting on Judge Marshall’s arrest for OVI after

crashing his car, or the copy of Disciplinary Counsel v. Marshall, 143 Ohio St.3d 62, 2015-

Ohio-1187, 34 N.E.3d 110, issued on April 1, 2015 by the Supreme Court of Ohio, which

states that Judge Marshall pleaded guilty to the OVI charge on March 8, 2013 and was

publicly reprimanded by The Supreme Court of Ohio for violating two Ohio Code of

Judicial Conduct rules by operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

       {¶8}   The trial court denied his motion for leave to file a motion for a new trial,

finding that “Defendant has not shown he was unavoidably prevented from discovering

any credible, substantive facts upon which his convictions and sentence should be

vacated.”

       {¶9}   Jewett appealed.

                              II. ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

       {¶10} Jewett presents the following assignment of error:

       The trial court abused its discretion in denying leave without an evidentiary
       hearing.
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                   6

                                 III. LAW AND ANALYSIS

       {¶11} Jewett asserts that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for leave

to file a motion for new trial without holding an evidentiary hearing. He argues that he was

required to, and did in fact, demonstrate by clear and convincing proof that he was

unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence within 120 days of the verdict – the

time by which a motion for new trial on account of newly discovered evidence must be

filed under Crim.R. 33(B). He contends that the verdict was announced on September 8,

2015, the 120-day deadline expired on January 6, 2016, and he presented evidence from

February 1, 2019 to September 5, 2019. Therefore, this evidence could not have been

discovered back in late 2015 to early 2016. He contends, “at the very least, Jewett

established entitlement to an evidentiary hearing on his motion for leave.”

       {¶12} Because Jewett seeks a new trial seven years after his convictions, he must

comply with Crim.R. 33(B)’s two-step process for filing an untimely motion. He must file a

motion for leave to file a motion for new trial and he must show by clear and convincing

proof that he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence on which he

seeks to base the motion for a new trial. Clear and convincing evidence is proof that is

more than a “mere preponderance of the evidence” but not of such certainty as “beyond

a reasonable doubt,” and produces in the mind a “firm belief or conviction” as to the facts

sought to be established. State v. Conant, 4th Dist. Adams No. 20CA1108, 2020-Ohio-

4319, ¶ 42. We review the trial court’s ruling for an abuse of discretion:

       Appellate review of a trial court's ruling on a motion for leave to file a motion
       for a new trial is conducted under an abuse-of-discretion standard. An
       abuse of discretion is more than an error of law or judgment; it implies that
       the court's attitude is unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable.
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                   7

       When a defendant seeks leave to file a motion for a new trial under Crim.R.
       33(B), the trial court may not consider the merits of the proposed motion for
       a new trial until after it grants the motion for leave. The sole question before
       the trial court when considering whether to grant leave is whether the
       defendant has established by clear and convincing proof that he was
       unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence on which he seeks to
       base the motion for a new trial. (Citations omitted.)

State v. Hatton, __Ohio St.3d __, 2022-Ohio-3991, __ N.E.3d__, ¶ 29-30.

       {¶13} “Crim.R. 33(B) does not give a deadline by which a defendant must seek

leave to file a motion for a new trial based on the discovery of new evidence. The rule

states only that a defendant must show that he was ‘unavoidably prevented from the

discovery of the evidence upon which he must rely.’ ” State v. Bethel, 167 Ohio St.3d

362, 2022-Ohio-783, 192 N.E.3d 470, ¶ 53. Specifically, Crim.R. 33(B) states in part:

       Motions for new trial on account of newly discovered evidence shall be filed
       within one hundred twenty days after the day upon which the verdict was
       rendered, or the decision of the court where trial by jury has been waived.
       If it is made to appear by clear and convincing proof that the defendant was
       unavoidably prevented from the discovery of the evidence upon which he
       must rely, such motion shall be filed within seven days from an order of the
       court finding that he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the
       evidence within the one hundred twenty day period.

In Bethel, the Supreme Court of Ohio criticized the judicially created requirement “that a

convicted defendant must file a motion for leave within a reasonable period of time after

discovering the new evidence, to prevent defendants from deliberately delaying filing the

motion ‘in the hope that witnesses would be unavailable or no longer remember the

events clearly, if at all, or that evidence might disappear.’ ” Bethel at ¶ 53, quoting State

v. Stansberry, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 71004, 1997 WL 626063, *3 (Oct. 9, 1997). The

Court held that the Rules of Criminal Procedure do not permit trial courts to impose an

additional “reasonable time” requirement on criminal defendants that would require a

motion for leave to file a motion for new trial to be made within a reasonable time after
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                                      8

discovering the new evidence. Bethel at ¶ 54-57. As a result, Jewett must only show what

Crim.R. 33(B) requires of him: clear and convincing proof that he was unable to discover

the evidence upon which he relies for his motion for a new trial. The timeliness of his

motion for leave to file a motion for new trial is not a consideration.

        {¶14} The Court in Bethel also held, “The ‘unavoidably prevented’ requirement in

Crim.R. 33(B) mirrors the ‘unavoidably prevented’ requirement in R.C. 2953.23(A)(1).”

State v. Bethel, 167 Ohio St.3d 362, 2022-Ohio-783, 192 N.E.3d 470, ¶ 59, citing State

v. Barnes, 5th Dist. Muskingum No. CT2017-0092, 2018-Ohio-1585, ¶ 28. “The phrase

‘unavoidably prevented’ in R.C. 2953.23(A)(1)(a) means that a defendant was unaware

of those facts and was unable to learn of them through reasonable diligence.” State v.

Barnes, 5th Dist. Muskingum No. CT2022-0001, 2022-Ohio-4613, ¶ 39. No hearing is

required, and leave may be summarily denied, where neither the motion nor its supporting

affidavits embody prima facie evidence of unavoidable delay. Id. at ¶ 51.

        {¶15} Here Jewett argued that because the verdicts in his trial were announced

on September 8, 2015, any evidence outside of January 6, 2016 could only be presented

via a motion for leave pursuant to Crim.R. 33(B). He contends, “The attached February

1, 2019 probate application; May 15, 2019, June 13, 2019, and September 5, 2019

Cincinnati Enquirer articles demonstrate being unavoidably prevented. Defendant could

not have reasonably supported a Crim.R. 33(A)(1)2 ground until these ethical concerns

were made public.”

2 Jewett appears to incorrectly reference Crim.R. 33(A)(1), which allows for a new trial for, “Irregularity in
the proceedings, or in any order or ruling of the court, or abuse of discretion by the court, because of which
the defendant was prevented from having a fair trial.” It is Crim.R. 33(A)(6) that allows for a new trial, “When
new evidence material to the defense is discovered which the defendant could not with reasonable diligence
have discovered and produced at the trial.”
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                  9

       {¶16} We have already considered and rejected Jewett’s argument that he was

unavoidably prevented from discovering Judge Marshall’s alcohol problem when we

reviewed his appeal of the denial of his postconviction petition. State v. Jewett, 4th Dist.

Scioto No. 22CA3976, 2022-Ohio-261, ¶ 15-20. We reject Jewett’s contention that he

could not have possibly known about ethical concerns related to Judge Marshall’s

alcoholism until they were reported in newspaper articles in 2019. The 2019 newspaper

articles reference Judge Marshall’s alcohol problems and state that these problems were

publicly known as far back as 2013.

       {¶17} The 2019 newspaper articles attached to Jewett’s petition also indicate that

the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a decision in the disciplinary case in which it publicly

reprimanded Judge Marshall and mentioned him suffering from alcoholism and making

efforts to address it. Disciplinary Counsel v. Marshall, 143 Ohio St.3d 62, 2015-Ohio-

1187, 34 N.E.3d 110, at ¶ 6, 8. This April 1, 2015 decision was issued to the public two

weeks before the grand jury’s April 16, 2015 indictment against Jewett.

       {¶18} Jewett’s suggestion that the public did not have access to this decision or

court records in the 2013 OVI case or related disciplinary case prior to the deadline for

him to file a motion for new trial is not well-taken. As we explained previously:

       The Supreme Court of Ohio’s Rules for the Reporting of Opinions mandate
       that “[a]ll opinions of the Supreme Court shall be promptly posted to the
       Supreme Court website and reported in the advance sheets and bound
       volumes of the Ohio Official Reports.” Rep.Op.R. 2.1. In addition,
       S.Ct.Prac.R. 3.02(A)(1)(b) states that “[d]ocuments filed with the Supreme
       Court shall be available for public access pursuant to Sup.R. 44 through
       47.” Under Sup.R. 45(A), “[c]ourt records are presumed open to public
       access.” Although Sup.R. 45(E) authorizes a court to restrict public access
       in certain circumstances, nothing in Jewett’s petition or attachments
       indicates public access to the court records in the 2013 OVI case or related
       disciplinary case was restricted prior to the deadline for him to file his
       petition. The June 13, 2019 Cincinnati Enquirer article suggests public
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                   10

       access to the complete probate court records in the 2019 guardianship case
       was restricted until the Enquirer threatened legal action, but the article gives
       no indication of any restrictions on public access to any other court records
       in legal proceedings against Judge Marshall. Moreover, Jewett offers no
       explanation as to how his incarceration prevented him from discovering the
       publicly available information about Judge Marshall’s alcohol problem prior
       to the deadline for filing a postconviction relief petition.

Jewett at ¶ 19.

       {¶19} Similarly here, Jewett offers no explanation as to how his incarceration

unavoidably prevented him from discovering publicly available information about Judge

Marshall’s alcohol problem prior to the deadline for filing a motion for new trial. Crim.R.

33(B) does not require the trial court to hold a hearing before ruling on a motion for leave

to file a motion for new trial, particularly here where Jewett failed to establish prima facie

evidence that he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence. Barnes at ¶

51. In fact, Crim.R. 33(B) does not even require a hearing on a motion for new trial unless

the motion alleges “sufficient substantive grounds for relief to warrant a hearing.” State v.

Hatton, __Ohio St.3d __, 2022-Ohio-3991, __ N.E.3d__, ¶ 35. We find that the trial court

did not abuse its discretion when it denied Jewett’s motion for leave to file a motion for a

new trial without holding an evidentiary hearing.

       {¶20} We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

                                                                   JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
Scioto App. No. 22CA4004                                                                 11

                                   JUDGMENT ENTRY

         It is ordered that the JUDGMENT IS AFFIRMED and that appellant shall pay the
costs.

         The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.

    It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the SCIOTO
COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS to carry this judgment into execution.

       IF A STAY OF EXECUTION OF SENTENCE AND RELEASE UPON BAIL HAS
BEEN PREVIOUSLY GRANTED BY THE TRIAL COURT OR THIS COURT, it is
temporarily continued for a period not to exceed 60 days upon the bail previously posted.
The purpose of a continued stay is to allow appellant to file with the Supreme Court of
Ohio an application for a stay during the pendency of proceedings in that court. If a stay
is continued by this entry, it will terminate at the earlier of the expiration of the 60-day
period, or the failure of the appellant to file a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court of
Ohio in the 45-day appeal period pursuant to Rule II, Sec. 2 of the Rules of Practice of
the Supreme Court of Ohio. Additionally, if the Supreme Court of Ohio dismisses the
appeal prior to expiration of 60 days, the stay will terminate as of the date of such
dismissal.

      A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of
the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Abele, J. & Wilkin, J.: Concur in Judgment and Opinion.

                                          For the Court

                                          BY: ________________________
                                              Michael D. Hess, Judge

                                 NOTICE TO COUNSEL

       Pursuant to Local Rule No. 14, this document constitutes a final judgment
entry and the time period for further appeal commences from the date of filing with
the clerk.