The Supreme Court of Ohio has declined to reopen the appeal of Jeffrey Wogenstahl, who was sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of a 10-year-old girl from Hamilton County. The decision came in a 6-1 ruling, with the Court noting that Wogenstahl had failed to challenge the constitutionality of his trial's jurisdiction in a timely manner.
Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, writing for the majority, stated that Wogenstahl was convicted in 1993 and that any request to reopen his appeal after February 1995 required him to show "good cause" for the delay. In his 2023 request, Wogenstahl cited issues raised by a concurring opinion in a 2017 Supreme Court decision that questioned the constitutionality of R.C. 2901.11(D), which allowed him to be tried in Hamilton County despite uncertainties about where the crime occurred.
"Wogenstahl had ample opportunity to challenge the constitutionality of R.C. 2901.11(D) before now but failed to do so in a timely manner," Chief Justice Kennedy wrote.
Justices Michael P. Donnelly and Melody Stewart joined Chief Justice Kennedy’s opinion, while Justices Patrick F. Fischer, R. Patrick DeWine, and Joseph T. Deters did not participate in the case.
Three assigned judges also joined the opinion: Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge Andrew J. King; Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge Eugene A. Lucci; and Third District Court of Appeals Judge Juergen A. Waldick.
Judge Lucci wrote a concurring opinion analyzing the constitutionality of R.C. 2901.11(D), concluding that it did not violate Wogenstahl’s due process rights at the time of his trial.
In dissent, Justice Jennifer Brunner argued that it was particularly important for the court to examine whether Ohio had jurisdiction over Wogenstahl’s case given its death penalty implications.
"The sum and substance of Wogenstahl’s arguments have yet to be heard: neither the constitutionality of former R.C. 2901.11(D) nor the effectiveness of Wogenstahl’s counsel for failing to raise the claim has even been litigated or reviewed," she wrote.
Wogenstahl was convicted in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court for kidnapping and murdering a child whose body was found across state lines in Indiana four days after her disappearance from Harrison, Ohio.
Despite multiple attempts over nearly three decades to overturn his conviction on various grounds—including claims about jurisdictional issues—the courts have consistently upheld his sentence.
Chief Justice Kennedy noted that any application to reopen an appeal based on ineffective assistance must be filed within 90 days unless good cause is shown for delays beyond this period—a condition she determined Wogenstahl did not meet given he waited nearly three decades after his initial conviction was affirmed by an appellate court in 1994 without providing sufficient justification for such extensive delay.
Justice Brunner emphasized that procedural flaws should not prevent addressing whether crucial aspects like R.C .2901 .11 (D)'s constitutional validity could potentially vacate wrongful convictions resulting from erroneous legal interpretations or applications thereof especially when capital punishment stakes are involved .
"But if Wogenstahl’s death sentence is premised on wrongful conviction , we cannot blindly ignore his claim simply because lapsed time opportunities missed ," concluded dissent urging thorough analysis rather than procedural dismissal alone .