After years without notable legal developments, Jeffrey Wogenstahl has been notified of two potentially significant occasions this year when judges plan to review different aspects of his case.

Next month, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court will listen to oral argument by Jeff and the State of Ohio about the constitutionality of the statute relied on by the State in holding Jeff’s trial in Ohio.

This statute – R.C. 2901.11(D) – underpinned the State’s presumption that Amber Garrett’s murder occurred in Ohio. Jeff argues* that the statute was both so fundamental and so problematic that his trial and appellate lawyers should have challenged its constitutionality. If his trial lawyers had done so, Jeff could have been tried in Indiana, where the victim’s body was found. He would presumably then have avoided the prosecutor misconduct that he encountered in Ohio; the outcome of his trial would likely then have been different.

If the Ohio Supreme Court agrees with Jeff’s argument, it could result in Jeff being granted a new trial in Indiana, which would include new evidence that was originally suppressed by Ohio.

And later this year, Judge Christian Jenkins of the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court will be considering whether Jeff’s trial was fair. An evidentiary hearing for this purpose will begin on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. Key to the hearing will be the important suppressed evidence and critical forensics reports, filed in 2016, which caused a Sixth Circuit Court to suggest that “[Jeff] can establish by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable [juror] would have found him guilty”.

An extra trial is something that few people would relish; however, it may be the best way for Jeff to establish his innocence once and for all. And for that reason we welcome the possibilities that 2024 have brought him.

* State of Ohio, Plaintiff v. Jeffrey Wogenstahl, Defendant. 2023-0945. Merit Brief of Appellant Jeffrey Wogenstahl, in the Supreme Court of Ohio. October 24, 2023.

NB This post has been updated. The start date for Jeff’s evidentiary hearing has been moved from Monday, September 23 to Tuesday, September 24.

FURTHER UPDATE: THE PLANNED EVIDENTIARY HEARING HAS BEEN POSTPONED.

UPDATE: JEFF’S EVIDENTIARY HEARING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR
15 – 18 OCTOBER, 2024.