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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Ohio Supreme Court denies new trial for man who tried to have sex with teen
XENIA — The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected the request for a new trial for a man who allegedly traveled from Cincinnati to Xenia to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Jose Rivas, of Cincinnati, was convicted of importuning and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in 2005 after he arranged in an online chat room to meet a 14-year-old girl named “Molly” at a Xenia hotel for sex. The teen was actually a Xenia police officer and Rivas was arrested when he sent a pager message directing “Molly” to his hotel room, according to the Ohio Supreme Court.
At trial, Rivas claimed the transcript the state providde during the evidentiary discovery process was inaccurate and requested a copy of the police department computer hard drive, the court said. Rivas’ request was denied because police said the hard drive contained evidence for other cases that had not been prosecuted.
After his conviction Rivas appealed to the Second District Court of Appeals in Dayton. He won that case and his conviction in Greene County Common Pleas Court was thrown out and a new trial ordered. The Ohio Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling overturns the appellate court’s decision to give Rivas a new trial.
In the majority opinion Justice Terrence O’Donnell wrote that Rivas did not sufficiently prove to the court that the transcript of the online chat provided by police was inaccurate. “The defendant bears the burden of showing that the state acted in bad faith by destroying potentially useful evidence,” O’Donnell wrote. “Mere speculation does not meet the accused’s burden to show that the withheld evidence is material.”
Two justices, Robert R. Cupp, Paul E. Pfeifer and Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, dissented from the opinion writing that the police computer hard drive was material to the Rivas’ defense.
Rivas’ attorney Marc. D. Mezibov, of Cincinnati, called the decision “troubling and unsettling” because he believes it could jeopardize future defendants’ rights to challenge evidence supplied by the prosecution. Mezibov said he could ask the court to reconsider its split decision in the next 10 days or appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court.
Elizabeth Ellis, appellate counsel for the Greene County Prosecutor’s office, said police had to protect investigative methods that would have been compromised had they given the defense a copy of their hard drive. She also noted Rivas destroyed his own hard drive which would have held a copy of the online chat. “In these particular cases, there is always going to be two copies of the information,” Ellis said. “If this was your key to freedom if you were wrongfully accused why would you destroy your own hard drive?”
Rivas, who was sentenced in 2005 to six months in jail and required to register for 10 years as a sex offender had the execution of his sentence postponed until the appeal was complete.
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Search for new superintendent already underway
BEAVERCREEK — School board members will start a search immediately to replace a superintendent many consider as one of the district’s biggest cheerleaders.
Dennis Morrison announced last week he would retire from his post July 31 after seven years in Beavercreek. He’s credited with helping keep the state’s highest ranking and bringing financial stability to the district.
Board members believe they can find Morrison’s replacement in the coming months and have someone ready to step in to lead the district before his retirement. To do so the board hired David Raish, who is affiliated with the education department at the University of Dayton, to lead a nationwide search for superintendent, said Richard Eckhardt, board president.
Eckhardt believes Raish will winnow applications down to 10 or so candidates in the coming month. Board members will then further narrow the field and eventually interview the top five applicants.
Whoever the board picks they’ll have their hands full as soon as they arrive in the district, which is beginning a $84 million renovation and construction project after voters approved a tax measure last year.
Morrison said he decided to retire before the project got well underway to give his successor a chance to make a mark on Beavercreek. “Who wouldn’t want to come to Beavercreek?” Morrison said.
Eckhardt agrees that now is a better time for Morrison’s retirement than half-way through the project. “I hate to lose him, but we all retire sometime,” he said. “Now is better than a year and a half from now.”
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