When Jury Verdict Form Does Not Identify Drug Possessed by Defendant, Is Court Limited to Misdemeanor Sentence?
Or May Court Reference Indictment, Other Parts of Record to Determine Level of Offense?
State of Ohio v. Donald Eafford, Case no. 2011-0599
8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County)
ISSUE: When the verdict form returned by a jury finds a defendant guilty of drug possession but does not identify the drug he possessed, must the trial court sentence the defendant based on the least serious level of that offense, or may the court rely on information in the indictment, jury instructions and other parts of the trial record to establish what drug the defendant possessed, and sentence him accordingly?