## Facts

- Jeffrey Swiecicki attended a Cleveland Indians baseball game at Jacobs Field with friends and repeatedly heckled left fielder Russell Branyan from the bleachers.
- In the seventh inning, Swiecicki yelled, “Russell Branyan, you suck. You have a big ass.”
- Jose Delgado, an off-duty Cleveland police officer working at the game as stadium security, motioned for Swiecicki to stop; Swiecicki argued with Delgado instead.
- Delgado approached Swiecicki’s row, told him to come with him, and when Swiecicki refused, ordered him to get up; Delgado stated they could do it “the easy way or the hard way.”
- Swiecicki stood up and Delgado grabbed him in an “escort” position (holding one arm with both hands) and guided him down the steps toward the tunnel.
- As they neared the tunnel, Swiecicki argued again, jerked his arm out of Delgado’s grip, and pushed Delgado’s arm away; Delgado then announced that Swiecicki was “under arrest” and placed him against a wall.
- Swiecicki’s brother approached; while Delgado motioned the brother to stop, Swiecicki broke from Delgado’s grasp and turned to face Delgado.
- Delgado used an arm-bar control hold, brought Swiecicki to the ground, handcuffed him, called for backup, and Swiecicki was taken to a holding area and later to jail.
- The City of Cleveland charged Swiecicki with aggravated disorderly conduct (C.C.O. 605.03) and resisting arrest (C.C.O. 615.08).
- After a bench trial, the court found Swiecicki not guilty of aggravated disorderly conduct but guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
- At trial, Delgado testified Swiecicki carried multiple beers to his seat and held a beer while heckling; Swiecicki denied being drunk, and his companions testified the heckling did not disturb them.
- Swiecicki appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient to support both convictions.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove disorderly conduct under C.C.O. 605.03 based on Swiecicki’s heckling and related conduct at a baseball game.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove resisting arrest under C.C.O. 615.08, including whether Delgado was making a lawful arrest.

## Decision

- The Eighth District Court of Appeals vacated the convictions and discharged Swiecicki.
- The court held the evidence was insufficient to establish disorderly conduct where the city did not show that the heckling and surrounding conduct, in the setting of a professional baseball game, met the ordinance’s elements (including any required showing of intoxication or a condition likely to cause the prohibited public disturbance or risk).
- The court held the evidence was insufficient to establish resisting arrest because the ordinance requires proof of a lawful arrest, and the city failed to prove a lawful basis for the underlying arrest.

## Legal Principles

- A conviction is supported by sufficient evidence only if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could find each element proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Disorderly conduct requires proof of the specific statutory or ordinance elements; rude or vulgar heckling at a sporting event, without proof of the ordinance’s required disturbance, risk, or other prohibited condition, is not enough.
- When the prosecution relies on intoxication as part of the disorderly-conduct theory, alcohol consumption alone (such as carrying or holding beers) is not, by itself, proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was intoxicated.
- Resisting arrest requires proof that the arrest being resisted was lawful; if the city fails to prove a lawful underlying arrest, the resisting-arrest conviction cannot stand.

## Conclusion

Because the city did not present legally sufficient evidence that Swiecicki’s heckling and related conduct at a baseball game satisfied the elements of disorderly conduct, it also failed to prove that Delgado had a lawful basis to arrest him; as a result, the convictions for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were vacated and Swiecicki was discharged.


City of Cleveland v. Swiecicki, 775 N.E.2d 899 (2002)