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(a) No conduct constitutes a criminal offense against the Municipality unless it is defined as an offense in this General Offenses Code or in any other ordinance or resolution, rule or regulation of the Municipality.
(b) An offense is defined when one or more sections of this General Offenses Code state a positive prohibition or enjoin a specific duty, and provide a penalty for violation of such prohibition or failure to meet such duty.
(ORC 2901.03; Ord. 1973-21. Passed 12-10-73.)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) hereof, sections of the Codified Ordinances defining offenses or penalties shall be strictly construed against the Municipality and liberally construed in favor of the accused.
(b) Rules of criminal procedure and sections of the Ohio Revised Code providing for criminal procedure shall be construed so as to effect the fair, impartial, speedy and sure administration of justice.
(c) Any provision of a section of the Codified Ordinances that refers to a previous conviction of or plea of guilty to a violation of a section of the Codified Ordinances or Ohio Revised Code or of a division of a section of the Codified Ordinances or Ohio Revised Code shall be construed to also refer to a previous conviction of or plea of guilty to a substantially equivalent offense under an existing or former law of this State, another state, or the United States or under an existing or former municipal ordinance.
(d) Any provision of the Codified Ordinances that refers to a section, or to a division of a section, of the Codified Ordinances that defines or specifies a criminal offense shall be construed to also refer to an existing or former law of this State, another state, or the United States, to an existing or former municipal ordinance, or to an existing or former division of any such existing or former law or ordinance that defines or specifies, or that defined or specified, a substantially equivalent offense. (ORC 2901.04)
(a) (1) Except as provided in division (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), or (a)(5) of this section or as otherwise provided in this section, a prosecution shall be barred unless it is commenced within the following periods after an offense is committed:
A. For a felony, six years;
B. For a misdemeanor other than a minor misdemeanor, two years;
C. For a minor misdemeanor, six months.
(2) There is no period of limitation for the prosecution of a violation of R.C. § 2903.01 or 2903.02 or for the prosecution of a conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of R.C. § 2903.01 or R.C. § 2903.02.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (b) to (j) of this section, a prosecution of any of the following offenses shall be barred unless it is commenced within 20 years after the offense is committed:
A. A violation of R.C. § 2903.03, 2903.04, 2905.01, 2905.32, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.21, 2909.02, 2909.22, 2909.23, 2909.24, 2909.26, 2909.27, 2909.28, 2909.29, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12 or 2917.02, a violation of R.C. § 2903.11 or 2903.12 if the victim is a peace officer, a violation of R.C. § 2903.13 that is a felony, or a violation of former R.C. § 2907.12.
B. A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation set forth in division (a)(3)A. of this section.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (d) to (l) of this section, a prosecution of a violation of R.C. § 2907.02 or 2907.03 or a conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of either section shall be barred unless it is commenced within 25 years after the offense is committed.
(5) A. Except as otherwise provided in divisions (a)(5)B. and (e) to (i) of this section, a prosecution of a violation of R.C. § 2907.13 shall be barred unless it is commenced within five years after the offense is committed.
B. Prosecution that would otherwise be barred under division (a)(5)A. of this section may be commenced within five years after the date of the discovery of the offense by either an aggrieved person or the aggrieved person’s legal representative who is not a party to the offense.
C. As used in division (a)(5)B. of this section, “aggrieved person” includes any of the following individuals with regard to a violation of R.C. § 2907.13:
1. A patient who was the victim of the violation;
2. The spouse or surviving spouse of a patient who was the victim of the violation;
3. Any child born as a result of the violation.
(b) (1) Except as otherwise provided in division (b)(2) of this section, if the period of limitation provided in division (a)(1) or (a)(3) of this section has expired, prosecution shall be commenced for an offense of which an element is fraud or breach of fiduciary duty within one year after discovery of the offense either by an aggrieved person or by the aggrieved person’s legal representative who is not a party to the offense.
(2) If the period of limitation provided in division (a)(1) or (a)(3) of this section has expired, prosecution for a violation of R.C. § 2913.49 shall be commenced within five years after discovery of the offense either by an aggrieved person or the aggrieved person’s legal representative who is not a party to the offense.
(c) (1) If the period of limitation provided in division (a)(1) or (a)(3) of this section has expired, prosecution shall be commenced for the following offenses during the following specified periods of time:
A. For an offense involving misconduct in office by a public servant at any time while the accused remains a public servant, or within two years thereafter;
B. For an offense by a person who is not a public servant but whose offense is directly related to the misconduct in office of a public servant, at any time while that public servant remains a public servant, or within two years thereafter.
(2) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
A. “Offense is directly related to the misconduct in office of a public servant.” The phrase includes but is not limited to a violation of R.C. § 101.71, 101.91, 121.61 or 2921.13, 102.03(F) or (H), 2921.02(A), 2921.43(A) or (B), or 3517.13(F) or (G), that is directly related to an offense involving misconduct in office of a public servant, or a violation of any municipal ordinance substantially equivalent to those Ohio Revised Code sections listed in this division (c)(2)A.
B. “Public servant” has the same meaning as in R.C. § 2921.01.
(d) (1) If a DNA record made in connection with the criminal investigation of the commission of a violation of R.C. § 2907.02 or 2907.03 is determined to match another DNA record that is of an identifiable person and if the time of the determination is later than 25 years after the offense is committed, prosecution of that person for a violation of the section may be commenced within five years after the determination is complete.
(2) If a DNA record made in connection with the criminal investigation of the commission of a violation of R.C. § 2907.02 or 2907.03 is determined to match another DNA record that is of an identifiable person and if the time of the determination is within 25 years after the offense is committed, prosecution of that person for a violation of the section may be commenced within the longer of 25 years after the offense is committed or five years after the determination is complete.
(3) As used in this division, “DNA record” has the same meaning as in R.C. § 109.573.
(e) An offense is committed when every element of the offense occurs. In the case of an offense of which an element is a continuing course of conduct, the period of limitation does not begin to run until the course of conduct or the accused’s accountability for it terminates, whichever occurs first.
(f) A prosecution is commenced on the date an indictment is returned or an information filed, or on the date a lawful arrest without a warrant is made, or on the date a warrant, summons, citation or other process is issued, whichever occurs first. A prosecution is not commenced by the return of an indictment or the filing of an information unless reasonable diligence is exercised to issue and execute process on the same. A prosecution is not commenced upon issuance of a warrant, summons, citation or other process unless reasonable diligence is exercised to execute the same.
(g) The period of limitation shall not run during any time when the corpus delicti remains undiscovered.
(h) The period of limitation shall not run during any time when the accused purposely avoids prosecution. Proof that the accused departed this municipality or conceals the accused’s identity or whereabouts is prima facie evidence of the accused’s purpose to avoid prosecution.
(i) The period of limitation shall not run during any time a prosecution against the accused based on the same conduct is pending in this state, even though the indictment, information or process that commenced the prosecution is quashed or the proceedings on the indictment, information or process are set aside or reversed on appeal.
(j) The period of limitation for a violation of this Part 6 or Title XXIX of the Ohio Revised Code that involves a physical or mental wound, injury, disability or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of a child under 18 years of age or of a child with a developmental disability or physical impairment under 21 years of age shall not begin to run until either of the following occurs:
(1) The victim of the offense reaches the age of majority.
(2) A public children services agency, or a municipal or county peace officer that is not the parent or guardian of the child, in the county in which the child resides or in which the abuse or neglect is occurring or has occurred has been notified that abuse or neglect is known, suspected or believed to have occurred.
(k) As used in this section, “peace officer” has the same meaning as in R.C. § 2935.01.
(l) (1) The amendments to divisions (a) and (d) of this section that took effect on July 16, 2015, apply to a violation of R.C. § 2907.02 or 2907.03 committed on and after July 16, 2015, and apply to a violation of either of those sections committed prior to July 16, 2015, if prosecution for that violation was not barred under this section as it existed on July 16, 2015.
(2) The amendment to division (a)(2) of this section that took effect on April 4, 2023, applies to a conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of R.C. § 2903.01 or R.C. § 2903.02 if the conspiracy, attempt, or complicity is committed on or after April 4, 2023, and applies to a conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of either of those sections if the conspiracy, attempt, or complicity was committed prior to April 4, 2023, and prosecution for that conspiracy, attempt, or complicity was not barred under this section as it existed on the day prior to April 4, 2023.
(R.C. § 2901.13)
(m) This section shall not apply to prosecutions commenced within the period of limitations set forth in Ohio R.C. 718.12(B) for violations of the Municipal income tax ordinance.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) hereof, a person is not guilty of an offense unless both of the following apply:
(1) The person’s liability is based on conduct that includes either a voluntary act, or an omission to perform an act or duty that the person is capable of performing;
(2) The person has the requisite degree of culpability for each element as to which a culpable mental state is specified by the language defining the offense.
(b) When the language defining an offense does not specify any degree of culpability, and plainly indicates a purpose to impose strict criminal liability for the conduct described in the section, then culpability is not required for a person to be guilty of the offense. The fact that one subsection of a section plainly indicates a purpose to impose strict liability for an offense defined in that subsection does not by itself plainly indicate a purpose to impose strict criminal liability for an offense defined in other subsections of the section that do not specify a degree of culpability.
(c) (1) When language defining an element of an offense that is related to knowledge or intent or to which mens rea could fairly be applied neither specifies culpability nor plainly indicates a purpose to impose strict liability, the element of the offense is established only if a person acts recklessly.
(2) Subsection (c)(1) of this section does not apply to offenses defined in the Traffic Code.
(3) Subsection (c)(1) of this section does not relieve the prosecution of the burden of proving the culpable mental state required by any definition incorporated into the offense.
(d) Voluntary intoxication may not be taken into consideration in determining the existence of a mental state that is an element of a criminal offense. Voluntary intoxication does not relieve a person of a duty to act if failure to act constitutes a criminal offense. Evidence that a person was voluntarily intoxicated may be admissible to show whether or not the person was physically capable of performing the act with which the person is charged.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) Possession is a voluntary act if the possessor knowingly procured or received the thing possessed, or was aware of the possessor’s control of the thing possessed for a sufficient time to have ended possession.
(2) Reflexes, convulsions, body movements during unconsciousness or sleep, and body movements that are not otherwise a product of the actor's volition, are involuntary acts.
(3) "Culpability" means purpose, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, as defined in Section 606.08.
(4) “Intoxication” includes, but is not limited to, intoxication resulting from the ingestion of alcohol, a drug, or alcohol and a drug.
(ORC 2901.21)
(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 the officer’s, agent’s or employee’s 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, those 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 the officer’s, agent’s or employee’s 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, those 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 such a board’s or person’s office or employment.
(b) If 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 nonprofit 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. (ORC 2901.23)
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