OH5: Suppression motion cannot be denied solely for def’s nonappearance at hearing

Defendant failed to appear for his suppression hearing, and the trial court denied the motion based on that. He has a constitutional right to be present, and the court could not deny the motion solely on that ground. Reversed. If there had been an affirmative waiver of his presence, the court could have proceeded without him. State v. Benner, 2018-Ohio-4788, 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 5123 (5th Dist. Nov. 26, 2018).

Defendant failed to show that he was misled by the officers who wanted to search his phone under any kind of promise he wouldn’t be prosecuted. “There was no deceit by the police officers here. Perry simply misunderstood and misjudged his liability for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and Perry cites no authority that required the police officers to advise him of the potential legal ramifications of allowing them to search his phone.” United States v. Perry, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 33812 (6th Cir. Dec. 3, 2018).*

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