Ohio Supreme Court: Prosecutors Can Appeal Judge’s Decision to Overturn Jury Verdict

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors can ask an appeals court for permission to challenge a judge’s decision to overturn a jury’s guilty verdict.

The 4-3 ruling came in a case involving a Cuyahoga County woman. The court also overturned a 1987 Ohio decision that had prevented prosecutors from appealing those types of rulings.

The justices said a judge’s decision to set aside a jury’s guilty verdict is not considered a “final verdict” under Ohio law. That means prosecutors may seek permission from an appeals court to have the ruling reviewed.

The court also found that allowing an appeal does not violate constitutional protections against double jeopardy because a successful appeal would simply restore the jury’s guilty verdict rather than require the defendant to face a second trial.

Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, joined by two other justices, disagreed. In a partial dissent, she argued that a judge’s acquittal should be treated as a final verdict and should not be appealable.

The decision changes nearly four decades of Ohio legal precedent and could affect how similar criminal cases are handled across the state.