TRACEY BLAIR
Published: December 14, 2020 A Mahoning County murder defendant argued his due process and Crim.R. 43 rights were violated when he was not physically present at his resentencing hearing.
The state argued that although the trial court did not obtain a waiver under Crim.R. 43, the error did not rise to the level of plain error.
The 7th District Court of Appeals affirmed the sentence, finding Aubrey Toney failed to demonstrate the outcome of the jury trial would have been different had he been physically present.
Toney was resentenced April 12, 2018, for murder, two counts of felonious assault and related firearm specifications. The issue raised in the appeal was whether his rights were violated by appearing at the hearing via teleconference.