State v. Montgomery, 1996 WL 141675 (Ct. App. Ohio 1996)

On appeal, the court overruled defendant's five assignments of error and affirmed the judgment of conviction. In his first assignment of error, defendant argued that the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress a shotgun shell found in the kitchen of his parent's home. The court found from the totality of the circumstances that the State had proved by clear and convincing evidence that defendant's father, with whom he lived, consented to police officers entering the living room and exiting the home through the back door and that his consent was voluntary. The court then held that the trial court had not violated Ohio R. Evid. 703 by admitting in evidence an expert's testimony regarding the shell. The court also ruled that the prosecutor's remarks about an absent witness constituted fair comment and did not violate Ohio R. Crim. P. 16(C)(3).