Paul Johnson’s journey through the criminal justice system is over, and he walks the earth a free man. The Eighth District Court of Appeals reversed his convictions and vacated his sentences last week, a landmark decision interpreting H.B. 86, Ohio’s recent sentencing reform law. In May 2011, Johnson was indicted...
Continue reading "ZDL wins landmark reversal in the 8th District Court of Appeals on HB 86 sentencing issue" …
In State v. Klein, Case No. 12 TRC 04904, a defendant was charged with a third OVI offense within six years and faced various penalties including a mandatory minimum sentence of sixty (60) days in jail. ZDL filed a motion to suppress in which they argued that the state trooper...
Continue reading "ZDL wins suppression hearing and obtains dismissal of client's OVI charges" …
Imagine that you’ve been wrongfully accused of a violent, sexual crime. Your accuser is actually your assailant. You called 911 after the attack, but your attacker told the police that you had kidnapped and tried to rape her. They believed her. You’ve now been arrested and charged with rape. Being...
Continue reading "ZDL gets rape charges against client dropped because it proved accusations to be false; wins $1.5 million judgment against false accusers" …
Convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to seven years in prison, Roy Bell’s situation was bleak. Mr. Bell was convicted of marijuana trafficking with a schoolyard specification, drug possession, and possession of criminal tools. Mr. Bell was also forced to surrender his assets to the state. Attorneys at ZDL appealed...
Continue reading "ZDL convinces Court of Appeals to reverse client’s convictions and seven-year prison sentence" …
It took three appeals, but the court of appeals ordered the trial court to expunge our client’s felony conviction. In 1998, M.D. was convicted of receiving stolen property, forgery, uttering, obstructing justice, and tampering with evidence. In 2009, M.D. applied to have his convictions expunged pursuant to R.C. 2953.32. The...
Continue reading "ZDL wins third appellate victory, resulting in expungement of client’s felonies" …
In a major victory for our client, attorneys at Zukerman, Daiker & Lear convinced the Eighth District Court of Appeals to overturn one of its own cases and find that the law required the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing on his expungement application. In 2005, defendant R.A. was...
Continue reading "Eighth District sides with ZDL, overturns precedent." …
Applicant sought the sealing of all official records of his prior convictions for receiving stolen property, forgery, uttering, and obstructing justice. The application was denied, and defendant appealed. The Court of Appeals, 2009 WL 3478517, reversed and remanded with instructions. On remand, the Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, No. CR-360551, issued a journal entry determining that applicant did not qualify as a first offender for record-sealing purposes and again denied the application. Applicant appealed.
Continue reading "Determining First Offender Status: STATE v. M.D., Cite as 196 Ohio App.3d 174, 2011-Ohio-1804" …
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