May State Appeal Trial Court Order Acquitting Defendant Despite Jury’s Guilty Verdict?
State of Ohio v. Rita Roddy, Case no. 2007-1640 8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County) ISSUE: When a jury has found a criminal defendant guilty, but the trial court has issued a post-verdict order of acquittal based on a finding that the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction, may a court of appeals hear and decide an appeal by the state challenging the legal reasoning underlying the acquittal order without violating the defendant’s double jeopardy rights? BACKGROUND: Ohio Criminal Rule 29(C) authorizes a trial court to set aside a jury’s guilty verdict and enter a judgment of acquittal if the court finds that the evidence presented at trial was not sufficient to sustain a conviction for the charged offense. In this case, after a jury returned a guilty verdict on a charge of kidnapping against Rita Roddy of Cleveland, the trial judge granted a Crim.R. 29(C) motion setting aside the verdict and acquitting Roddy based on a finding that the evidence presented by the st
