## Facts

- Nancy Weitbrecht was indicted on two counts of involuntary manslaughter under Ohio Rev. Code § 2903.04(B) for deaths arising from a head-on collision in Holmes County.
- While driving west on State Route 62, Weitbrecht crossed left of center in a no-passing zone and struck an eastbound vehicle.
- The collision caused three deaths, including two passengers in Weitbrecht’s vehicle and one passenger in the other vehicle.
- The state’s bill of particulars identified four possible predicate minor misdemeanor traffic offenses: failure to maintain reasonable control, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, driving left of center, and failure to obey hazardous zone markings.
- Under § 2903.04(B)–(C), causing death as a proximate result of committing a minor misdemeanor constitutes third-degree-felony involuntary manslaughter, punishable by imprisonment and a fine.

## Issues

1. Whether applying Ohio Rev. Code § 2903.04(B) to a death proximately resulting from a minor misdemeanor traffic offense imposes a punishment so grossly disproportionate that it violates the Eighth Amendment and Ohio Constitution Article I, Section 9.

## Decision

- The Ohio Supreme Court answered the certified question in the negative.
- The court reversed the court of appeals, upheld § 2903.04(B) as applied, and reinstated the indictment.
- The court held that third-degree-felony punishment for involuntary manslaughter predicated on a minor misdemeanor traffic offense causing death is not cruel and unusual.

## Legal Principles

- Statutes carry a strong presumption of constitutionality; a challenger must prove unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt.
- In noncapital cases, the Eighth Amendment contains only a narrow proportionality principle; successful proportionality challenges are rare and require a showing of gross disproportionality.
- For § 2903.04(B), the punished offense is involuntary manslaughter—causing death as a proximate result of unlawful conduct—not the predicate minor traffic offense viewed in isolation.
- Legislatures may grade homicide offenses and assign penalties based on the combination of conduct and resulting harm; differences from other offenses or other states’ schemes do not, by themselves, establish cruel and unusual punishment.

## Conclusion

The Ohio Supreme Court held that Ohio’s involuntary manslaughter statute may constitutionally treat a death proximately caused by a minor misdemeanor traffic violation as a third-degree felony, and it reinstated the indictment to allow prosecution to proceed.


State v. Weitbrecht, 86 Ohio St. 3d 368, 715 N.E.2d 167 (Ohio 1999)