Archived Cases
Man Found Not Guilty of Vehicular Homicide
Our client, a young man with no criminal record, was operating his vehicle when, unexpectedly, a deer ran into the roadway and he lost control of his car. Tragically, his passenger was thrown from the car and died. After an accident reconstructionist surveyed the scene, officers believed that our client was negligent in his driving, and charged him with vehicular homicide. The case proceeded to jury trial, where the Trooper candidly admitted that our theory of what happened was perfectly plausible. As a result, the case never reached the jury—the Judge granted our motion for a direct verdict of acquittal at the close of the state’s case.
Prosecutor’s Mistake in Trial Leads to Directed Verdict of “Not Guilty”
Proving once again that you never know what will happen in trial until you get there, a prosecutor’s error led to winning the trial without having to put the case to the jury to decide. In the OVI trial, the prosecutor elicited testimony from the arresting officer, but forgot to ask one important question: whether the person he arrested was, in fact, the person in court. After the state rested, we made a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, which was granted on this basis. As a consolation to the state, we did speak with the jury afterwards, and they indicated that they were very likely going to find our client not guilty.
Drug Trafficking Indictment Dismissed After Suppression Hearing
Traveling home from California, our client was stopped for a turn signal violation and for
following too close. This appeared to be a pretextual stop as our client was an African American driving an expensive vehicle with out of state tags in a rural county. He was charged with multiple felonies and the prosecutor offered 18 months in prison. Chase promptly filed a motion to suppress and began investigating how to show this to the judge. During his research, he was able to use the standardized length of the hashed highway lines to establish the distance between X.Y.’s car and the car in front of him. He also did a calculation of how long the turn signal was activated prior to making the lane change based on a speed of 70mph. During cross-examination, Chase locked the officer into the fact that X.Y. was traveling no greater than 70mph and had him use a stop watch to show the time the turn signal was activated. Chase then locked him in to what a safe following distance was at 70mph and used the video and public documents to establish the standardized length of the broken white lines on the highway. The judge had no option but to agree that there was no turn signal violation based on the math presented and that X.Y. was not following too close based on the evidence presented.
Husband and Father Avoids Criminal Charges
During Child Molestation Investigation
A central Ohio custom home builder was accused of sexually abusing a 5 year old child. Deeply concerned when the accusations arose and a detective contacted him, he was referred to Chase to give him the best possible result. Chase and N.A. met, discussed the accusations, and decided to take a proactive approach before charges were even filed. Chase contacted the detective and arranged for a meeting. In the mean time, Chase arranged for a private polygraph. Upon a successful result, Chase presented this along with N.A.’s statement during the meeting with the detective. No charges were ever filed and we cleared our client’s name.
Rape Investigation Ends With No Charges Filed
Our client was awaiting enlisting in the army when a female accused him of raping her at a
house party. All parties had consumed substantial alcohol, and the alleged victim was also
consuming multiple drugs. L.P. denied the accusations and was referred to Chase by a
prosecutor. After Chase’s prompt investigation, we set up a meeting with the detective and
presented all exculpatory evidence. The detective and county prosecutor’s office considered the information provided and determined a prosecution was not warranted.
Officer avoid Assault & Agg Menacing Convictions
A police officer hired Chase Mallory to defend him on criminal charges relating to an altercation he had with a local resident. J.C. was facing assault (and other) charges carrying up to 180 days in jail along with losing the ability to ever be a police officer again. After months of defending the case, we were able to negotiate a plea to a disorderly conduct with a term of probation that prevented him from acting in the capacity of a police officer during the period of probation. J.C. accepted the plea offer to avoid the consequences of jail and a lifetime inability to work as a police officer if he lost at trial.
Domestic Violence Charges Dropped
A prominent local business owner in Muskingum County was charged with Domestic Violence after an alcohol infused night with his girlfriend. He suffered substantial visible injuries as a result of the physical altercation, but denied being the aggressor. Chase did an investigation of police reports, witness statements, and of the alleged victim. As the case progressed, the prosecutor acknowledged Chase’s defenses and agreed to reduce the Domestic Violence charge to a minor disorderly conduct.
Federal Production of Child Pornography Client Avoids Life Sentence
Our client had a history of child pornography and child sex related offenses. He previouslyserved an 11 year sentence for his conduct in Hawaii. Years after his release, he unfortunately became caught up in the same conduct. This time he was facing a mandatory life sentence in Federal Court for his role in helping to produce child pornography. Throughout months of negotiating, we were able to reach a plea that did not include a life sentence. Our client looks forward to continuing his rehabilitation during his incarceration to avoid any future offenses when released.
Federal Drug Trafficking Conspiracy with Terrific Result
A federal drug trafficking conspiracy landed our client in an Arizona jail awaiting facing hischarges here in the Southern District of Ohio. The family of F.G., deeply concerned, contacted Chase on a Thursday. On Friday, Chase was on a plane to Arizona to meet with F.G. to immediately begin working for him. He was facing in of roughly 20 years for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy that the FBI estimated ran over $15,000,000 in drugs from Mexico, through Arizona and then into Ohio during a 6 month period. Through intensive negotiations and cooperation, Chase negotiated a plea deal that limited his exposure to 5 years and allowed the ability to argue for a lesser sentence at the sentencing hearing. Chase prepared a thorough sentencing memorandum and presented on F.G.’s behalf during sentencing. The judge was convinced that the appropriate sentence for F.G. would be only 24 months, with credit for the time he had already served. Our client was released to his family recently and avoided the nightmare of missing his children’s childhood.
CCW charge dismissed after constitutional violation is found
T.J., mindful of the dangers of texting and driving, pulled over to the side of the road in the early morning hours to text a friend. Unfortunately, he was in a “high crime” area, and officers happened upon him to inquire about what he was doing. Though they did not activate their lights, the officers asked for his license, and used it to run a warrant check. After this point, officers asked if there were any weapons in the vehicle, T.J. handed over a knife, and was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Dan filed a motion to suppress, alleging that the officers seized T.J. without reasonable suspicion, and the trial court agreed. The City of Columbus appealed, and argued that the offer was “consensual,” as opposed to a seizure. Ultimately a three judge panel agreed with our position, agreed with the trial court, and the case was dismissed.
Jury finds man found not guilty of felony gun offense
A.W. had too much to drink one evening, drove his vehicle, and ended up being arrested for OVI after officers found him asleep at the wheel. A.W. went to court and pled guilty to the OVI on his own—but his trouble had just begun. When the officers searched his car, they found a loaded gun on the floorboard between the two front seats. Worse, A.W. was previously convicted of a felony offense, and was not permitted to be in possession of the firearm. He was charged, and the case proceeded to trial. The defense was straight forward: Defendant was driving his girlfriend’s vehicle, it was her gun, and he didn’t know it was there (perhaps due to his level of intoxication). In spite of the jury hearing that he had the disability, they sided with our story, and found A.W. not guilty.
Appellate court overturns convictions
A.A. was pulled over for not using his turn signal to turn into his apartment parking lot, and the officer noticed about a pound of marijuana on the floorboard of A.A.’s car. He was placed under arrest; however, a dilemma existed—A.A.’s dog was in the back seat of his car. The officer took A.A. and his got to his apartment, let the dog in, and as A.A. was shutting the door, the officer noticed marijuana inside and prevented A.A. from closing the door. After entering and conducting a “protective sweep,” the officer found more contraband. Subsequently, A.A. signed a form allowing them to search, and a firearm, and F2 and F3 levels of drugs were confiscated. Dan filed a motion to suppress, and argued 1) that the officers did not have a right to enter without a warrant, 2) that the protective sweep was invalid, and 3) that his “consent” was tainted by the previous violations. Though the trial court overruled our motion, we appealed the case, and in a 2-1 decision the appellate court overruled the trial court’s decision. After all offenses related to what was found in the home were dismissed (offenses carrying mandatory prison time), we pled to the marijuana charge, and A.A. received probation and no incarceration.
Felony sex charges avoided
Being on the receiving end of an accusation of sexual misconduct is an unenviable position to be in; when the accuser is a minor, the danger is significantly increased. In this case, it was fortunate that law enforcement did not rush to judgment and proceeded to do a preliminary investigation. Rather than sit idly by, we adopted a proactive defense, including our own polygraph examination—which indicated that there was no deception when our client indicated that he did not have sexual contact with the minor. After meeting with Detectives, they concurred with our stance of innocence, and no charges were filed.
Drug charges dismissed after illegal entry onto property
While our client was relaxing in his home, officers were in the street tending to other business, when they claimed to have smelled the odor of marijuana. Officers followed that odor to his home, and instead of knocking at the front door, they snuck around the house—peering in windows, and seeing drug paraphernalia. They then knocked at the front door, coerced their way inside, and charged him with several drug offenses. We filed a motion to suppress challenging the officer’s entry onto the property, and ultimately were able to convince the prosecutor that the officers were likely in the wrong. The case was dismissed for costs, and a drug conviction was avoided.
Off-duty officer found not guilty of assault
R.C., an off-duty officer, attempted to break off a relationship with a woman he had been seeing—and it did not go well. She first argued with him, and then attacked him. In spite of her assault, he never laid a hand on her, and simply left. Still spiteful, the woman filed charges on R.C., claiming that he had assaulted her. Not interested in any deals, we proceeded to take the case to trial. Coincidentally, a civil-demand letter was sent to R.C. the morning we picked a jury, and after the jury heard the whole story, they unanimously found R.C. to be not guilty. R.C., vindicated, returned to the Ohio Highway State Patrol.
Rape Charges Dropped to Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct and Trespassing Offenses
This case was a testament to investigation, will, and scientific understanding. Our client E.S. was a professional student who had sexual relations with another student after each had consumed alcohol. She claimed not to remember the interaction, a sample of her urine was analyzed which showed a particularly high BAC level, and a rape indictment was brought based solely on the theory that she was too drunk to consent to sex. On its face, the case looked difficult. However, once we started investigating, holes in the states theory quickly became apparent. First, we analyzed security video at a bar they were at just prior to the interaction, and it showed two consenting adults interacting in, what appeared to be, a sober manner. Further, when the method of testing was scrutinized, it became evident that the sample could not be relied upon. Using our own knowledge to find errors, we contacted two experts to testify to what we already knew were significant issues. Just prior to trial, the state offered misdemeanor disorderly conduct and aggravated trespass charges, and we accepted the deal knowing there would be no jail, no registration, and no felony. The misdemeanor records have now been sealed.
High School Student Gets Misdemeanors After Five Count Felony Indictment
Maturity comes with age and life experience, and fortunately for us and our client, we were able to convince an open-minded prosecutor that he deserved a second chance. Our client was alleged to have broken into five different garages, stealing relatively small items from each. Though in high school, he was 18, and therefore was indicted as an adult on each charge—and each charge was a second degree felony burglary charge, carrying a presumption of prison and a cumulative maximum exposure of 40 years in prison. After presenting mitigation, our prosecutor was sympathetic to our client’s case and future, and agreed to amend each felony to a misdemeanor offense and place him on a period of probation.
Woman charged with soliciting found not guilty
T.K., finding herself unexpectedly on the street without transportation, had a vehicle pull up beside her and offer her a ride. Believing this person to be helping in good-faith, she accepted, only to find out later that the driver of the car was an undercover officer. This officer claimed that T.K. offered sexual acts for pay; whereas T.K. denied this accusation. To compound matters, T.K. was on probation for loitering for solicitation, which may have contributed to the officer believing she was predisposed to do the act when, in fact, she had not in this case. Nevertheless, we went to trial, and explained our side of the story to the jury. A combination of believing T.K., coupled with the officer not even bothering to record the encounter, led to a finding of not guilty.
Officer found not guilty of unlawful restraint
Our client, a law enforcement officer, was accused of unlawfully restraining a fellow officer in a dorm room at the training academy. He strongly denied the charge, and with his reputation, marriage, and career on the line, we went to trial. Through cross examination, we were able to demonstrate inconsistencies and bias in the accuser’s story, and ultimately the jury vindicated our client and found him not guilty.
Woman with gun acquitted of child endangering
Our client was involved with a family disturbance, and the police were called to her residence. While conducting a search of the house, officers found a loaded firearm under the kitchen sink—along with a young child in the vicinity of the gun. In spite of the child's presence, the unlikelihood of finding the gun and, if found, being able to use it, made it unlikely that harm would come to the child. The law required a ”perverse indifference to a known risk of physical harm" to prove the charge, and we proceeded to trial believing that the prosecutor could not meet this standard. A judge agreed, and our client was found not guilty.
Nanny found not guilty of child endangering
The defendant was a nanny who was responsible for the care of several children. One day, while swaddling a young child experiencing a tantrum, some members of the households cleaning crew mistakenly believed she was suffocating the child. Unwilling to accept any plea offers, we proceeded to a jury trial. At that trial, cross examination revealed weaknesses in the cleaner's perception of what had occurred, and at the close of the prosecutor's case, the judge granted our motion for a directed acquittal.
Delaware Woman's child endangering case dismissed
In Delaware, a mother slept in and did not notice her young child leaving the home unattended. The child was found by a neighbor, and police were called. After interaction with our client, police believed her to have been under the influence, and charged her with child endangering. After negotiation with the prosecutor, an agreement was reached to complete an assessment in exchange for a dismissal for court costs. These requirements were easily met, and we resolved the case with a clean record intact.
Jury finds man not guilty of menacing and domestic violence
Our client and his wife were going through marital difficulties, which culminated in an argument at a family get together. An accusation was made that our client had threatened his wife, and he was charged with menacing and domestic violence. The case proceeded to trial, where both his wife and her friend testified against him. We chose to put on a defense, and through a translator, we were able to convey to the jury that no threats were made and that the charges were brought out of spite. After a short time, the jury unanimously found our client not guilty.
Mandatory Prison Sentence Avoided with Reduced Charge
Our client, S.A., had overcome a lot of adversity’s in his life, including a substantial prior record and substance abuse, to earn both a successful occupation and a happy home life. However, as can be the case with people who have struggled with addiction, he fell back for a brief period and purchased a large amount of cocaine. He was caught, indicted on a first degree felony, and the amount of cocaine was large enough to the point that he would have to do mandatory time of 3-11 years if convicted. Knowing a recent Ohio Supreme Case had called the level of proof needed in cocaine cases into question—and knowing the decision was under reconsideration from a new court—we acted quickly to take advantage of the current law and plead to a 3rd degree felony without mandatory time. The Judge imposed no incarceration on S.A. and simply placed him on a period of probation. The Supreme Court overruled its prior decision a short time later, but fortunately, we were able to take advantage of the prior law.