Burden of proof?

FREMONT — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine wants a Sandusky County judge to rule against a man who claims he was wrongfully convicted and wrongfully imprisoned after being framed by former sheriff's detective Sean O'Connell. Patrick Baker Sr. must prove he's innocent to get relief, according to a court motion filed by DeWine's office in Sandusky County Court. It's not the first time DeWine sided with O'Connell, who Baker contends had an old grudge against him from an auto accident years earlier in which the two were involved, in which O'Connell was at fault. O'Connell falsely accused him in a 2014 burglary, Baker contends, and manufactured evidence against him.O'Connell was forced out of the sheriff's office in 2016 after being accused of mishandling the murder investigation into the death of Heather Bogle. He was later indicted on charges of obstruction, falsification, coercion, dereliction of duty and other charges related to that investigation.The disgraced former detective took a plea deal July 31 and will be sentenced next month. He could get up to three years in prison.Baker, who always denied having any involvement in the burglary O'Connell claimed he was involved in, and who had no prior criminal record, was tried, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison after a trial in Common Pleas Judge John Dewey's courtroom that lasted less than an hour.He spent a year in prison before an appeals court overturned the conviction and ordered him freed. A special prosecutor later asked Judge Dewey to dismiss all charges against Baker, saying there was no credible evidence against him.Baker filed his civil lawsuit in March asking the court to declare him a wrongfully imprisoned person.Baker contends O'Connell manufactured the case against him, including coaching a witness to testify against him in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.DeWine is acting as defense counsel for the state, the defendant in the case. Assistant Attorney General Andrea Boyd wrote in motion for judgement Aug. 3 that Baker is unable to prove his innocence.Boyd cited a prong of the Ohio Revised Code's section on wrongful imprisonment claims that requires the plaintiff to prove that they did not commit the offense or that nobody committed the crime.She argued that, in the original trial, the Sandusky County court did not instruct jury members they could consider a lesser burglary charge "if (the jury) found the state had not proved all the elements of the greater burglary charge.""This is not a case where (Baker's) conviction was reversed based on insufficient evidence or someone other determination that the state has not met its burden of proof," Boyd wrote. "To the contrary, the (appeals court) stated that the evidence reasonably supported a conviction on the lesser included offense."Baker's attorney, Bart Keyes of the Columbus-based firm Cooper and Elliot, refuted that argument."(The state) is saying he shouldn't be able to go forward with the civil claim," Keyes said. "We think they're wrong on that. The argument they raised, frankly, would stop any wrongful conviction (lawsuit) any exoneree ever filed."Keyes previously told the Register Baker "did not commit the charged offenses or any lesser-included offenses." He said if the lawsuit is successful, Baker can recover attorney fees and other damages for time spent in prison.Keyes has until the end of the day Friday to file a response to the state's judgement motion, according to a court document. There will be a hearing on the motion in Judge Robert Hart's court Aug. 31.O'Connell never identified a credible suspect during the Bogle investigation, and just months after he was removed from the case a suspect, Daniel Myers, was arrested and charged with murdering her.In a prior botched case, DeWine determined O'Connell failed to conduct a credible investigation into the death of Craig Burdine inside the Sandusky County jail in 2007, but he failed to take any action against the detective for deceiving Burden's family.Numerous families complained about how O'Connell conducted other investigations in the past, but he was never held to account by DeWine, or any other authority, prior to the Bogle investigation. Reach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterClyde resident Patrick Baker sits in his dining room on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. After spending 16 months out of a five year sentence in prison for a conviction an appellate court later threw out, Baker was put in legal limbo by former Sandusky County prosecutor, Tom Stierwalt.