MasonBuzz.com

Paul McKibben reports:

With one contested race, Warren County Republicans maintained complete control of county government in Tuesday’s general election.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Warren County Court Judge Donald Oda II was leading Libertarian Roger Staton, 64 percent to 36 percent, in unofficial preliminary results for Common Pleas Court judge. The seat is held by Neal Bronson, who is retiring.

Republicans who didn’t face opposition were Commissioner Dave Young, Commissioner Pat South, Clerk of Court James Spaeth, Coroner Russell Uptegrove, Engineer Neil Tunison, Prosecutor David Fornshell, Recorder Linda Oda, Sheriff Larry Sims, Treasurer James Aumann and County Court Judge Joseph Kirby.

In the contested race for a seat on the 12th District Court of Appeals, Judge Michael Powell was leading attorney Raymond Lembke of Clermont County’s Pierce Township, 79 percent to 21 percent.

Powell will fulfill the rest of the late Rachel Hutzel’s term through February 2017. Hutzel died in August. Gov. John Kasich earlier had appointed Powell to the seat.

The district is comprised of Butler, Warren, Clermont, Preble, Clinton, Brown, Fayette and Madison counties.

A proposed charter amendment to fund fire and emergency medical services was leading in Mason, 73 percent to 27 percent, with 92 percent of precincts in.

The income tax hike would affect employees at key employers that have facilities in Mason, such as Procter & Gamble and Cintas. An estimated 21,000 people work in the city, which is home to more than 1,100 businesses.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, charter amendment, dave young, election, issue 7, mason, miachel powell, neal bronson, pat south, rachel hutzel, ramond lembke, republicans, roger staton, safety services, warren county

Janice Morse reports:

Jurors in the Ryan Widmer murder case were provided with all the information they needed to make a sound decision, prosecutors say, arguing that the lead detective’s alleged credibility problems were irrelevant.

Although Hamilton Township police Lt. Jeff Braley was the lead investigator, “(Widmer’s) guilt did not turn upon Lt. Braley’s testimony,” prosecutors wrote this week in their response to Widmer’s second appeal of his 2011 murder conviction. “In other words, Lt. Braley’s credibility was not material…(and) was not determinative of the Appellant’s guilt or innocence. Any issues material to the case were fully aired before the jury.”

• Read Widmer’s appeal

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Widmer, 31, is serving 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of drowning his wife of four months, Sarah, 24, in their bathtub in Warren County’s Hamilton Township in 2008.

Now county prosecutors and Widmer’s appellate lawyer, Michele Berry, are battling in the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

In two separate appeals, Berry asks the court to throw out Widmer’s conviction based on alleged mistakes. The court heard arguments about the first appeal in April and could make a ruling in a few more weeks. That appeal focuses on issues such as alleged illegal seizure of the bathtub.

The second appeal centers largely on Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson’s refusal to allow Widmer’s trial lawyers to grill Braley about false statements in his employment records. Berry contends that, if Bronson had permitted jurors to learn more about Braley, that may have changed the outcome of Widmer’s third trial following two mistrials.

But Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Greer wrote: “The record from the first, second and third trials demonstrates conclusively that the State used the 911 tape, the testimony of the first responders and the testimony of its medical experts to prove that (Widmer) murdered his wife.”

Berry says authorities wrongfully withheld information about Braley, and she argues that Braley’s involvement could have skewed the whole case.

Greer calls Braley’s role in the case “rather minimal,” noting: “he was not solely responsible for collecting most of the evidence.” There also is “not a shred of evidence…that he fabricated or altered any evidence or that he even had the opportunity to do so,” Greer wrote.

A year ago, an independent investigator issued a report revealing more questions about Braley‘s honesty, and Braley resigned. He denied making any false statements.

Next, the appeals court is to set a hearing in which judges will question Berry and Greer about the issues they raised in court documents.

Related stories:

• Second Widmer appeal filed
• Widmer hearing focuses on bathtub
• Three-judge panel reviewing Widmer conviction
• Widmer lawyer vows fight after fourth trial denied
• Widmer lawyers: Bathtub seized improperly
• Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
• Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, michele berry, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Michele Berry, appeal attorney for Ryan Widmer, shows a photo of the space where Widmer's bathtub was ripped out of from his Hamilton Township home in 2008. Berry says police had no right to remove the tub under the search warrant they obtained. Berry presented evidence to a three judge panel at the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown on Monday April 16, 2012. The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Janice Morse reports:

In an alleged “bathtub murder” case, why was the bathtub itself not listed on a search warrant?

That is one of the major points that Ryan Widmer’s appellate lawyer, Michele Berry, hammered home today during a hearing before the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals here, arguing police had no right to take the bathtub, which is considered part of the home. She said that, for example, if a crime were committed in a mobile home, police shouldn’t therefore be allowed to seize the entire mobile home. That, she said, would be a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Judges Robert P. Ringland, left, Robert A. Hendrickson, and H.J. Bressler, listen to Michele Berry, appeal attorney for Ryan Widmer, as she goes over details about the bathtub where Widmer's wife Sarah, drowned in their Hamilton Township home in 2008. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Police never should have removed the tub without a court order — and Widmer’s trial lawyers erred when they failed to file timely objections to admission of the tub, which ended up being a major piece of evidence against Widmer, Berry said.

Assistant Prosecutor Michael Greer argued: “The police officers do not know, cannot list every possible source of fingerprints.” That’s why the search warrant didn’t list the bathtub, he said, although the search warrant did say they were looking for fingerprints.

The presiding judge, Robert Hendrickson, noted: “The search warrant didn’t list one or a couple items. There were multiple items,” yet the bathtub itself was omitted.

Widmer, 31, who is serving 15 years to life in the 2008 bathtub drowning of his wife, protests that he was wrongfully convicted of murder last year. None of his fingerprints were found on the tub, but prosecutors argued that was evidence that the tub had been wiped clean after the drowning of his wife, Sarah, 24. And prosecutors argued that, based on a criminalist’s testimony about unidentified “streaks” and a “forearm mark” — were evidence of a violent struggle. Such evidence lacks a scientific foundation, Berry argued, and that testimony should have been barred from the trial.

About a dozen supporters showed up wearing white to symbolize they believe Widmer is innocent. On the other side of the room sat John Arnold, a Warren County assistant prosecutor who presented evidence against Widmer during all three of his trials.

(more…)

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, michele berry, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Ryan Widmer professes his innocence in an interview with The Enquier's Janice Morse after his conviction last February in the death of his wife, Sarah. Widmer's attorneys filed a second notice of appeal for a new trial last week. File photo

An attorney for Ryan Widmer has filed a second notice of appeal in the continuing legal battle seeking a fourth trial for the convicted murderer.

Attorney Michele Berry filed an appeal on Wednesday asking the 12th District Court of Appeals to overrule Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson’s Jan. 18 ruling on her petition for a new trial.

Widmer, 31, who last lived in Mason, is serving 15 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of murder last February in the 2008 drowning of his wife, Sarah, 24, in their Hamilton Township bathtub. It was his third trial, following two mistrials.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder
• LIKE MasonBuzz on Facebook for the latest Widmer case updates
  

Widmer already has an appeal of his conviction pending before the 12th District Court, but that brief did not contain issues presented in the motion to Bronson, explained Berry.

“You can’t ask the appellate court to review an issue until the trial court has had a chance to review it first. Now, since we lost the petition with Bronson, we have to appeal that denial as well and present all those new claims to the appellate court,” said Berry.

In those motions, Widmer’s lawyers wanted Bronson to order genetic testing that could show whether Sarah Widmer suffered from a genetic disorder than can disrupt heartbeats.  They argued that such an undetected medical problem may have contributed to her drowning.

Widmer’s lawyers claimed the jury should have heard evidence that emerged after Widmer’s conviction showing that the lead investigator on the case, Lt. Jeff Braley, had likely made false representations about his job history and education on employment documents.

Bronson had refused to allow Widmer’s lawyers to grill Braley on those credibility issues largely because Braley had denied making the false claims. Braley resigned from the Hamilton Township police force in June after an independent investigator told trustees there was reason to consider launching a pre-disciplinary hearing over issues with his honesty.

Widmer’s attorneys also asserted that the jury lost its way and that authorities made crucial mistakes, including improperly seizing the bathtub in which Sarah Widmer had drowned.

“I’m going to request that the appellate court consolidate the two appeals so that when we eventually have an oral argument we can address all the claims at the same time,” said Berry.

Widmer has protested his innocence in post-conviction interviews, but did not testify during his trials.  Berry has vowed to fight all the way to federal court if necessary.

“We have strong claims that warrant a new trial, and we will be relentless in our efforts to get that result,” she said.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said he had no comment on the second appeal.

Janice Morse contributed to this story

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Related stories:

• Widmer lawyer vows fight after fourth trial denied
• Widmer lawyers: Bathtub seized improperly
• Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
• Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder

Posted in: News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, appeal, attorney, fourth trial, genetic testing, jeff braley, judge neal bronson, lawyer, michele berry, middletown, new trial, ryan widmer, warren county common pleas court