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Notwithstanding any other section of the Codified Ordinances, when any section of the Building Code, Housing Code, Health Code, or Fire Prevention Code defining an offense does not specify any degree of culpability, then strict criminal liability shall apply and culpability is not required for the person to be guilty of the offense.
(Ord. No. 1039-2023. Passed 2-5-24, eff. 2-6-24)
(a) A person acts purposely when it is his or her specific intention to cause a certain result, or when the gist of the offense is a prohibition against conduct of a certain nature, regardless of what the offender intends to accomplish thereby, it is his or her specific intention to engage in conduct of that nature.
(b) A person acts knowingly, regardless of his or her purpose, when he or she is aware that his or her conduct will probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain nature. A person has knowledge of circumstances when he or she is aware that such circumstances probably exist.
(c) A person acts recklessly when, with heedless indifference to the consequences, he or she perversely disregards a known risk that his or her conduct is likely to cause a certain result or is likely to be of a certain nature. A person is reckless with respect to circumstances when, with heedless indifference to the consequences, he or she perversely disregards a known risk that such circumstances are likely to exist.
(d) A person acts negligently when, because of a substantial lapse from due care, he or she fails to perceive or avoid a risk that his or her conduct may cause a certain result or may be of a certain nature. A person is negligent with respect to circumstances when, because of a substantial lapse from due care, he or she fails to perceive or avoid a risk that such circumstances may exist.
(e) When the section defining an offense provides that negligence suffices to establish an element thereof, then recklessness, knowledge or purpose is also sufficient culpability for such element. When recklessness suffices to establish an element of an offense, then knowledge or purpose is also sufficient culpability for such element. When knowledge suffices to establish an element of an offense, then purpose is also sufficient culpability for such element.
(RC 2901.22; Ord. No. 54-74. Passed 3-25-74, eff. 4-1-74)
(a) No person, purposely or knowingly, and when purpose or knowledge is sufficient culpability for the commission of an offense, shall engage in conduct which, if successful, would constitute or result in the offense.
(b) It is no defense to a charge under this section that, in retrospect, commission of the offense which was the object of the attempt was either factually or legally impossible under the attendant circumstances, if that offense could have been committed had the attendant circumstances been as the actor believed them to be.
(c) No person who is convicted of committing a specific offense, of complicity in the commission of an offense, or of conspiracy to commit an offense shall be convicted of an attempt to commit the same offense in violation of this section.
(d) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section that the actor abandoned his or her effort to commit the offense or otherwise prevented its commission, under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of his or her criminal purpose.
(e) Whoever violates this section is guilty of an attempt to commit an offense. An attempt to commit any misdemeanor is a misdemeanor of the next lesser degree than the misdemeanor attempted. In the case of an attempt to commit an offense other than a violation of RC Chapter 3734 that is not specifically classified, an attempt is a misdemeanor of the first degree if the offense attempted is a felony under the Ohio Revised Code, and a misdemeanor of the fourth degree if the offense attempted is a misdemeanor. An attempt to commit a minor misdemeanor, or to engage in conspiracy, is not an offense under this section.
(RC 2923.02; Ord. No. 90-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
(a) No person, acting with the kind of culpability required for the commission of an offense, shall do any of the following:
(1) Solicit or procure another to commit the offense;
(2) Aid or abet another in committing the offense;
(3) Conspire with another to commit the offense in violation of RC 2923.01;
(4) Cause an innocent or irresponsible person to commit the offense.
(b) It is no defense to a charge under this section that no person with whom the accused was in complicity has been convicted as a principal offender.
(c) No person shall be convicted of complicity under this section unless an offense is actually committed, but a person may be convicted of complicity in an attempt to commit an offense in violation of Section 601.08.
(d) If an alleged accomplice of the defendant testifies against the defendant in a case in which the defendant is charged with complicity in the commission of or an attempt to commit an offense, an attempt to commit an offense, or an offense, the court, when it charges the jury, shall state substantially the following:
“The testimony of an accomplice does not become inadmissible because of his or her complicity, moral turpitude, or self-interest, but the admitted or claimed complicity of a witness may affect his or her credibility and make his or her testimony subject to grave suspicion, and require that it be weighed with great caution.”
“It is for you, as jurors, in the light of all the facts presented to you from the witness stand, to evaluate such testimony and to determine its quality and worth or its lack of quality and worth.”
(e) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section that, prior to the commission of or attempt to commit the offense, the actor terminated his or her complicity, under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of his or her criminal purpose.
(f) Whoever violates this section is guilty of complicity in the commission of an offense, and shall be prosecuted and punished as if he or she were a principal offender. A charge of complicity may be stated in terms of this section, or in terms of the principal offense.
(RC 2923.03; Ord. No. 90-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
(a) An organization may be convicted of an offense under any of the following circumstances:
(1) The offense is a minor misdemeanor committed by an officer, agent or employee of the organization acting in its behalf and within the scope of his or her office or employment, except that if the section defining the offense designates the officers, agents or employees for whose conduct the organization is accountable or the circumstances under which it is accountable, such provisions shall apply;
(2) A purpose to impose organizational liability plainly appears in the section defining the offense, and the offense is committed by an officer, agent or employee of the organization acting in its behalf and within the scope of his or her office or employment, except that if the section defining the offense designates the officers, agents or employees for whose conduct the organization is accountable or the circumstances under which it is accountable, such provisions shall apply;
(3) The offense consists of an omission to discharge a specific duty imposed by law on the organization;
(4) If, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for the commission of the offense, its commission was authorized, requested, commanded, tolerated or performed by the board of directors, trustees, partners or by a high managerial officer, agent, or employee acting in behalf of the organization and within the scope of his or her office or employment.
(b) When strict liability is imposed for the commission of an offense, a purpose to impose organizational liability shall be presumed, unless the contrary plainly appears.
(c) In a prosecution of an organization for an offense other than one for which strict liability is imposed, it is a defense that the high managerial officer, agent or employee having supervisory responsibility over the subject matter of the offense exercised due diligence to prevent its commission. This defense is not available if it plainly appears inconsistent with the purpose of the section defining the offense.
(d) As used in this section, “organization” means a corporation for profit or not for profit, partnership, limited partnership, joint venture, unincorporated association, estate, trust or other commercial or legal entity. “Organization” does not include an entity organized as or by a governmental agency for the execution of a governmental program.
(RC 2901.23; Ord. No. 54-74. Passed 3-25-74, eff. 4-1-74)
(a) An officer, agent or employee of an organization as defined in Section 601.10 may be prosecuted for an offense committed by such organization, if he or she acts with the kind of culpability required for the commission of the offense, and any of the following apply:
(1) In the name of the organization or in its behalf, he or she engages in conduct constituting the offense, or causes another to engage in such conduct, or tolerates such conduct when it is of a type for which he or she has direct responsibility;
(2) He or she has primary responsibility to discharge a duty imposed on the organization by law, and such duty is not discharged.
(b) When a person is convicted of an offense by reason of this section, he or she is subject to the same penalty as if he or she had acted in his or her own behalf.
(RC 2901.24; Ord. No. 54-74. Passed 3-25-74, eff. 4-1-74)
As used in Section 601.13:
(a) “Repeat offender” means a person who has a history of persistent criminal activity, and whose character and condition reveal a substantial risk that he or she will commit another offense. It is prima facie evidence that a person is a repeat offender if any of the following apply:
(1) Having been convicted of one (1) or more offenses of violence, as defined in RC 2901.01 and Section 601.01(i), and having been imprisoned pursuant to sentence for any such offense, he or she commits a subsequent offense of violence;
(2) Having been convicted of one (1) or more sex offenses as defined in RC 2950.01 or Section 619.01, and having been imprisoned pursuant to sentence for any such offense, he or she commits a subsequent sex offense;
(3) Having been convicted of one (1) or more theft offenses as defined in RC 2913.01 or Section 625.01, and having been imprisoned pursuant to sentence for any such offense, he or she commits a subsequent theft offense;
(4) Having been convicted of one (1) or more felony drug abuse offenses as defined in RC Chapter 2925, and having been imprisoned pursuant to sentence for any such offense, he or she commits a subsequent felony drug abuse offense;
(5) Having been convicted of two (2) or more felonies, and having been imprisoned pursuant to sentence for any such offense, he or she commits a subsequent offense;
(6) Having been convicted of three (3) or more offenses of any type or degree other than traffic offenses, alcoholic intoxication offenses or minor misdemeanors, and having been imprisoned pursuant to sentence for any such offense, he or she commits a subsequent offense.
(b) “Dangerous offender” means a person who has committed an offense, whose history, character, and condition reveal a substantial risk that he or she will be a danger to others, and whose conduct has been characterized by a pattern of repetitive, compulsive, or aggressive behavior with heedless indifference to the consequences.
(c) “Actual incarceration” means that an offender is required to be imprisoned for the stated period of time to which he or she is sentenced that is specified as a term of actual incarceration. If a person is sentenced to a term of actual incarceration, the court shall not suspend his or her term of actual incarceration, and shall not grant him or her probation or shock probation, pursuant to RC 2929.51, 2947.061, 2951.02, or 2951.04, and the department of rehabilitation and correction or the adult parole authority shall not, pursuant to RC Chapter 2967 its rules adopted pursuant to RC Chapter 2967, 5120, or 5149, grant him or her a furlough for employment or education, a furlough for being a trustworthy prisoner other than a furlough pursuant to division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of RC 2967.27, parole, emergency parole, or shock parole until after the expiration of his or her term of actual incarceration, diminished as provided in RC 2967.19, 2967.193, and 5145.11.
An offender who is sentenced to a term of actual incarceration may be transferred from an institution operated by the department of rehabilitation and correction to the custody of the department of mental health or the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, as provided in RC 5120.17, and shall be credited with all time served in the custody of the department of mental health or the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities against the term of actual incarceration.
(d) “Deadly weapon” has the same meaning as in Section 627.01.
(RC 2929.01; Ord. No. 90-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
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