Appeals court upholds conviction

Created on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 Written by THE BELLEFONTAINE EXAMINER STAFF

The Third District Court of Appeals unanimously denied claims by a Bellefontaine man that he did not receive a fair trial.

Justin Smith, 35, who was convicted in May of felonious assault for the November 2011 beating of victim Carl Stevenson, claimed the trial court improperly excluded evidence in support of his claim of self-defense and that the jury instructions and verdict forms confused the jury.

While some of his claims were substantiated, the appeals court ruled the exclusions to be harmless and upheld the ruling of Logan County Common Pleas Judge Mark S. O’Connor.

Claims about the jury instructions and verdict forms being confusing, however, were entirely rejected.

Mr. Smith will serve the remainder of the six-year sentence he was later ordered to serve.

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