Opinion
No. 104531
02-02-2017
CITY OF CLEVELAND PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE v. DANITA JACKSON DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Myron P. Watson 614 W. Superior Avenue 1144 Rockefeller Building, Suite #1144 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Barbara Langhenry Director of Law City of Cleveland Kimberly G. Barnett-Mills Chief City Prosecutor Karyn J. Lynn Ashley Garrett Assistant City Prosecutors 1200 Ontario Street - 8th Floor Cleveland, Ohio 44113
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION JUDGMENT: REVERSED AND REMANDED Criminal Appeal from the Cleveland Municipal Court
Case No. 2015 TRD 017067 BEFORE: Kilbane, J., E.A. Gallagher, P.J., and S. Gallagher, J.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Myron P. Watson
614 W. Superior Avenue
1144 Rockefeller Building, Suite #1144
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Barbara Langhenry
Director of Law
City of Cleveland Kimberly G. Barnett-Mills
Chief City Prosecutor
Karyn J. Lynn
Ashley Garrett
Assistant City Prosecutors
1200 Ontario Street - 8th Floor
Cleveland, Ohio 44113 MARY EILEEN KILBANE, J.:
{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Danita Jackson ("Jackson"), appeals her wrongful entrustment conviction on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to sustain her conviction under Cleveland Codified Ordinances 435.05.
Cleveland Codified Ordinances 435.05 provides in relevant part that
[n]o person shall authorize or knowingly permit a motor vehicle owned by him or her or under his or her control to be driven by any person if either of the following applies:
(a) The offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe the other person has no legal right to drive the motor vehicle;
(b) The offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe the other person's act of driving the motor vehicle would violate any prohibition contained in R.C. 4507.01 to 4507.39.
{¶2} The city of Cleveland ("the City") concedes the error, and our review of the record substantiates the error — the City did not prove that Jackson knew or had reason to know that the driver of her vehicle did not have a valid driver's license. Accordingly, the sole assignment of error is sustained.
{¶3} Judgment is reversed, and the matter is remanded with instructions for the trial court to vacate Jackson's wrongful entrustment conviction.
It is ordered that appellant recover of appellee costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the municipal court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. /s/_________
MARY EILEEN KILBANE, JUDGE EILEEN A. GALLAGHER, P.J., and
SEAN C. GALLAGHER, J., CONCUR