State v. Urbina , 2021 Ohio 4254 ( 2021 )


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  • [Cite as State v. Urbina, 
    2021-Ohio-4254
    .]
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
    THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DEFIANCE COUNTY
    STATE OF OHIO,
    PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,                               CASE NO. 4-21-08
    v.
    HYME J. URBINA,                                           OPINION
    DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
    STATE OF OHIO,
    PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,                               CASE NO. 4-21-09
    v.
    HYME J. URBINA,                                           OPINION
    DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
    Appeals from Defiance County Common Pleas Court
    Trial Court Nos. 05 CR 09186 and 05 CR 09264
    Judgments Affirmed
    Date of Decision: December 6, 2021
    APPEARANCES:
    Henry Schaefer for Appellant
    Russell R. Herman for Appellee
    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    MILLER, J.
    {¶1} Defendant-appellant, Hyme J. Urbina, appeals the April 12, 2021
    judgments of the Defiance County Court of Common Pleas revoking his community
    control and reimposing the balance of his prison sentence. For the reasons that
    follow, we affirm.
    I. Background
    {¶2} In 2006, Urbina was sentenced to an aggregate term of 19 years and 11
    months in prison for offenses ranging from robbery and burglary to possession of
    cocaine and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. After
    serving 12 years and 6 months in prison, Urbina filed a motion for judicial release
    on November 15, 2018. On February 14, 2019, the trial court granted Urbina’s
    motion for judicial release. The trial court suspended the balance of Urbina’s prison
    sentence and placed him on community control for a period of 5 years. Upon his
    release from prison, Urbina resided in Ohio for a short time before moving to Texas,
    where his supervision was transferred.
    {¶3} In late June 2020, Urbina was arrested for disorderly conduct in
    Defiance County.1 Urbina was taken to the City of Defiance Police Department
    where he was met by a probation officer. The probation officer requested that
    Urbina submit to a drug screen. Urbina refused.
    1
    This charge was subsequently dropped after the State filed its motion to revoke Urbina’s community control.
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    {¶4} On July 2, 2020, the State filed a motion to revoke Urbina’s community
    control and reimpose the balance of his prison sentence. As grounds for its motion,
    the State alleged that Urbina had violated the conditions of his community control
    by leaving his county of residence in Texas without prior permission and by refusing
    to submit to the drug screen as requested. On July 16, 2020, Urbina was released
    on his own recognizance, and a probable-cause hearing was scheduled for July 21,
    2020. At a probation meeting on July 17, 2020, Urbina tested positive for the
    consumption of alcohol and admitted to using methamphetamines.
    {¶5} Urbina failed to appear for the July 21, 2020 probable-cause hearing
    and a warrant for his arrest was issued. On July 23, 2020, the Defiance County
    Grand Jury indicted Urbina for failure to appear as required by his recognizance
    bond in violation of R.C. 2937.29 and 2937.99.
    {¶6} Urbina was eventually arrested and a probable-cause hearing was held
    on September 17, 2020, at which the trial court concluded there was probable cause
    to find that Urbina had violated the conditions of his community control. An
    adjudicatory hearing was initially scheduled for October 8, 2020. However, over
    the next five months, the adjudicatory hearing was continued or rescheduled a total
    of six times.
    {¶7} Meanwhile, on October 9, 2020, the State filed a supplemental motion
    to revoke Urbina’s community control. The State’s supplemental motion asserted
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    additional grounds for revoking Urbina’s community control, specifically that
    Urbina had been indicted for failure to appear as required by his recognizance bond
    and that he had tested positive for alcohol on July 17, 2020.
    {¶8} The adjudicatory hearing was finally held on March 31, 2021. At the
    beginning of the hearing, Urbina again moved for a continuance. This time, the trial
    court declined to continue the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial
    court found by a preponderance of the evidence that Urbina had violated multiple
    conditions of his community control. Specifically, the trial court found that Urbina
    “absconded supervision by leaving the State of Texas without proper permission or
    authority; that [he] violated Ohio law by failing to appear for a scheduled hearing
    in this Court after being released on a personal recognizance bond; that he failed to
    submit to a drug screen as directed by a supervising officer; and that he admittedly
    used methamphetamine and alcohol.” Accordingly, the trial court revoked Urbina’s
    community control and reimposed the balance of his previously suspended prison
    sentence. The trial court filed its judgment entries on April 12, 2021.
    {¶9} On April 27, 2021, Urbina timely filed notices of appeal. He raises four
    assignments of error for our review.
    II. Assignments of Error
    1. The trial court violated appellant’s right to due process when
    it did not require the State to timely disclose the evidence against
    him.
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    2. The trial court violated appellant’s right to due process when
    it did not provide an opportunity to present documentary
    evidence.
    3. The trial court violated appellant’s right to due process when
    it did not act as a neutral and detached body.
    4. Mr. Urbina received ineffective assistance of counsel when
    his attorney failed to object to the court’s questioning of the
    State’s witness.
    Because they concern interrelated issues, we consider Urbina’s first and second
    assignments of error together. For similar reasons, we consider Urbina’s third and
    fourth assignments of error together.
    III. Discussion
    A.     First and Second Assignments of Error: By denying Urbina’s request
    to continue the March 31, 2021 adjudicatory hearing, did the trial court violate
    Urbina’s right to due process?
    {¶10} From the wording of Urbina’s first and second assignments of error,
    one might conclude that he is challenging the State’s belated disclosure of evidence
    and the trial court’s refusal to allow him to present certain evidence at the March
    31, 2021 adjudicatory hearing. Yet, these are not Urbina’s arguments. Instead, in
    his first and second assignments of error, Urbina contends the trial court violated
    his right to due process when it denied his most recent request to continue the
    adjudicatory hearing. Urbina claims another continuance was required because he
    was not given “meaningful time” to review evidence the State provided to him on
    the morning of the adjudicatory hearing. He also maintains that the trial court, by
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    denying his request for another continuance, deprived him of an opportunity “to
    gather documents necessary for his defense.”
    i. Continuances & Due Process
    {¶11} “The grant or denial of a continuance is a matter which is entrusted to
    the broad, sound discretion of the trial judge.” State v. Unger, 
    67 Ohio St.2d 65
    , 67
    (1981).   Ordinarily, “[a]n appellate court must not reverse the denial of a
    continuance unless there has been an abuse of discretion.” 
    Id.
    {¶12} However, “[i]t is a basic due process right * * * that a defense counsel
    be afforded the reasonable opportunity to prepare his case.” State v. Sowders, 
    4 Ohio St.3d 143
    , 144 (1983). Therefore, where the granting of a continuance is
    necessary to allow defense counsel a reasonable opportunity to prepare his case, the
    denial of a request for a continuance may violate the defendant’s right to due
    process. But “not every denial of a continuance constitutes a denial of due process.”
    State v. Broom, 
    40 Ohio St.3d 277
    , 288 (1988). Indeed, “‘[t]here are no mechanical
    tests for deciding when a denial of a continuance is so arbitrary as to violate due
    process. The answer must be found in the circumstances present in every case,
    particularly in the reasons presented to the trial judge at the time the request is
    denied.’” Unger at 67, quoting Ungar v. Sarafite, 
    376 U.S. 575
    , 589, 
    84 S.Ct. 841
    (1964). “Weighed against any potential prejudice to a defendant are concerns such
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    as a court’s right to control its own docket and the public’s interest in the prompt
    and efficient dispatch of justice.” 
    Id.
    {¶13} When evaluating a request for a continuance, a court should consider:
    the length of the delay requested; whether other continuances have
    been requested and received; the inconvenience to litigants, witnesses,
    opposing counsel and the court; whether the requested delay is for
    legitimate reasons or whether it is dilatory, purposeful, or contrived;
    whether the defendant contributed to the circumstance which gives
    rise to the request for a continuance; and other relevant factors,
    depending on the unique facts of each case.
    Id. at 67-68. A court is not required to give particular weight to any one of these
    factors. See Musto v. Lorain Cty. Bd. of Revision, 
    148 Ohio St.3d 456
    , 2016-Ohio-
    8058, ¶ 23. Furthermore, “a trial court is not even explicitly required to outline the
    Unger factors when denying a continuance.” State v. Shurelds, 3d Dist. Allen No.
    1-20-35, 
    2021-Ohio-1560
    , ¶ 56.
    ii. The trial court did not violate Urbina’s right to due process by denying his
    request to continue the March 31, 2021 adjudicatory hearing.
    {¶14} After reviewing the record, we conclude that the trial court’s decision
    to deny Urbina’s request to continue the March 31, 2021 adjudicatory hearing was
    not so arbitrary as to violate Urbina’s right to due process.
    {¶15} Initially, it should be reiterated that this was not Urbina’s first request
    for a continuance. As noted above, Urbina’s adjudicatory hearing was continued or
    rescheduled a total of six times between October 2020 and March 2021. Some of
    these continuances were necessitated by Urbina’s own conduct. For example, the
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    adjudicatory hearing scheduled for October 8, 2020 had to be continued when
    Urbina’s original trial counsel moved to withdraw after “receiv[ing] written
    correspondence threatening a complaint to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel if [he]
    d[id] not comply with [Urbina’s] orders.” Similarly, after the adjudicatory hearing
    had already been continued three times, it was again moved from a rescheduled date
    of January 14, 2021, in order to accommodate Urbina’s third trial counsel, who was
    appointed on December 31, 2020, after Urbina’s second trial counsel moved to
    withdraw on grounds that Urbina had filed a grievance against him in the Office of
    Disciplinary Counsel. Urbina’s third trial counsel then successfully moved to
    continue the adjudicatory hearing from February 4, 2021 to March 4, 2021, and
    finally from March 4, 2021 to March 31, 2021. Each of the final two continuances
    was granted to allow Urbina’s third trial counsel further time to more fully prepare
    Urbina’s defense.
    {¶16} In addition, there is no indication in the record as to how long the
    proceedings would have been delayed had Urbina’s request for a continuance been
    granted. See Unger, 67 Ohio St.2d at 69. Conspicuously absent from Urbina’s
    request for a continuance is any estimation of how long it would take to review the
    documents provided by the State or obtain the other evidence supposedly necessary
    for his defense. Id.
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    {¶17} Finally, Urbina’s reasons for requesting another continuance did not
    justify the added inconvenience to the litigants, the witnesses, and the trial court.
    Urbina first maintains a continuance was necessary to thoroughly review the
    documents the State provided to him on the day of the March 31, 2021 adjudicatory
    hearing. These documents were not admitted as exhibits at the hearing and some of
    them do not appear in the record. However, from the transcript of the hearing, we
    are able to discern that the State provided Urbina with a copy of his community
    control conditions, a copy of hold orders sent to the Corrections Center of Northwest
    Ohio (“CCNO”), and a statement from the Interstate Compact Offender Tracking
    System (“ICOTS”) that Urbina “absconded [from Texas] and that he did not have
    permission to be in Ohio.” After receiving the documents from the State, the trial
    court granted a brief recess to allow Urbina to review the documents with counsel.
    {¶18} Considering the kind of documents provided to Urbina on the morning
    of the March 31, 2021 adjudicatory hearing, an additional continuance was not
    necessary. From the record before us, it appears the documents provided to Urbina
    were not voluminous or complex. In addition, some of them, specifically the copy
    of Urbina’s community control conditions, were available from the clerk of courts
    throughout the pendency of the revocation proceedings. Furthermore, Urbina had
    signed and been given a copy of his community control conditions when he was
    released from prison in February 2019, and both of the State’s motions to revoke
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    Urbina’s community control quoted each of the allegedly-violated community
    control conditions verbatim. Lastly, some of the documents, specifically the orders
    sent to CCNO directing it to hold Urbina on the community control violations, were
    completely irrelevant to whether Urbina actually violated the conditions of his
    community control. As the documents provided to Urbina were uncomplicated and
    either immaterial to his defense or filled with information previously conveyed (or
    otherwise readily available) to Urbina, a continuance was not required; the brief
    recess was more than sufficient for Urbina to review the documents with counsel
    and incorporate them into his defense.
    {¶19} Urbina also argues a continuance was necessary to allow him to obtain
    additional evidence crucial to his defense. Urbina claims he needed additional time
    to obtain three categories of evidence: (1) documents he signed during the July 17,
    2020 meeting with a supervising probation officer; (2) evidence showing that he had
    not been served with notice of the probable-cause hearing set for July 21, 2020; and
    (3) evidence refuting the information received from ICOTS and showing “he was
    acting properly with regard to his supervision in Texas.”
    {¶20} Regarding the first category of evidence, at the March 31, 2021
    adjudicatory hearing, the probation officer with whom Urbina met on July 17, 2020,
    represented that Urbina did not sign anything during their meeting. Moreover,
    Urbina failed to clearly describe the contents of the documents he purportedly
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    signed or explain how the documents would be relevant to rebutting the State’s
    evidence that he violated the conditions of his community control. Here, given the
    doubts over the existence of these documents and their utility to Urbina in
    conducting his defense, we cannot see any legitimate basis for granting an additional
    continuance.
    {¶21} Concerning the other two categories, we observe that Urbina had
    ample opportunity to secure this evidence in advance of the March 31, 2021
    adjudicatory hearing. As of the date of the adjudicatory hearing, the case had been
    pending for nearly nine months. Setting aside the fact that Urbina changed attorneys
    twice between October and December 2020, he had more than enough time to work
    with his third trial counsel to obtain this evidence. Urbina’s third trial counsel was
    appointed on December 31, 2020, after which he succeeded in delaying the
    adjudicatory hearing for three months in order to prepare Urbina’s defense.
    Although Urbina’s third trial counsel stated that Urbina had written “about six
    letters” to two probation officers seeking copies of his community control
    conditions and the hold orders sent to CCNO, there is no indication in the record of
    any attempt to obtain this evidence by a subpoena. Nor does it appear that Urbina
    undertook any effort to contact Texas probation officials or to communicate with
    Defiance County officials regarding whether notice of the July 21, 2020 probable-
    cause hearing had been properly served. See Sowders, 4 Ohio St.3d at 145. Nor did
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    Urbina demonstrate that this evidence could actually be obtained or how much
    additional time it might take to receive the evidence. Id.
    {¶22} For the foregoing reasons, we hold that the trial court did not violate
    Urbina’s right to due process by refusing to grant yet another continuance.
    {¶23} Urbina’s first and second assignments of error are overruled.
    B. Third and Fourth Assignments of Error: Did the trial court’s questioning
    of the State’s witness violate Urbina’s right to due process and was his trial
    counsel ineffective for failing to object to the trial court’s questioning?
    {¶24} In his third assignment of error, Urbina argues he was denied his right
    to due process because the trial court was prejudiced against him. He contends that
    the trial court’s bias is manifest from the trial court’s partial questioning of one of
    the State’s witnesses. In his fourth assignment of error, Urbina argues his trial
    counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the trial court’s questioning of this
    witness.
    i. The Trial Court’s Allegedly Offending Questioning
    {¶25} Urbina’s third and fourth assignments of error revolve around
    questions the trial court posed to Julie Berry, a Defiance County probation officer.
    The questioning pertained to Urbina’s assertion that he had permission to leave
    Texas and come to Ohio. Near the close of the State’s redirect examination, Berry
    was asked by the State whether she would have been notified if Urbina had been
    granted permission to be in Ohio. (Mar. 31, 2021 Tr. at 30). Berry responded that,
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    if proper protocol were being followed, she would have been notified. (Mar. 31,
    2021 Tr. at 31). She further stated that she “would have received a copy of the travel
    permit as well.” (Mar. 31, 2021 Tr. at 31). Berry testified that she did not receive
    any such travel permit. (Mar. 31, 2021 Tr. at 31).
    {¶26} Thereafter, the trial court engaged in the following dialogue with
    Berry:
    [Trial Court]:   Seems to me, I have a recollection from years ago
    and I haven’t heard reference to it recently cause it’s
    not come up. If, I mean way back when we had a
    County Probation Department prior to APA
    supervision and that obviously is well prior to the,
    again having -- when a probationer got permission
    to go somewhere, there was actually a physical
    document that they called a travel permit.
    [Berry]:         Correct.
    [Trial Court]:   Do they still use those?
    [Berry]:         Yes. Anytime they leave the State of Ohio they have
    to have a travel permit.
    [Trial Court]:   And it seems to me that they were required to like,
    if they went somewhere they had to go get that
    signed by a --
    [Berry]:         Local Police.
    [Trial Court]:   -- law enforcement or a probation officer or
    somebody there?
    [Berry]:         Correct.
    [Trial Court]:   Is that procedure still in effect?
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    [Berry]:         Yes, we require that as well. So, if they go to the
    State of Indiana or whatever county they’re in, they
    have to go to the local police department or the local
    sheriff’s office and have that signed.
    [Trial Court]:   There was no reference to it in your dealings with
    Mr. Urbina when the police called you out, was there
    any reference to him having a travel permit?
    [Berry]:         No. And they are required to keep that on their
    person at all times if they’re in a different state under
    probation.
    [Trial Court]:   [D]oes that apply to Interstate Compact people as
    well?
    [Berry]:         Yes, because they have to have a permit to leave the
    State of Ohio to go to the next state.
    [Trial Court]:   What about from Texas, do you?
    [Berry]:         Yes, there would have been a notice of departure
    sent from Texas to let me know that he was coming
    here and then I would have filled out a notice of
    arrival when he checked in with my office. Those
    two things were not done.
    [Trial Court]:   Did you ask him if he had a travel permit?
    [Berry]:         I did not.
    (Mar. 31, 2021 Tr. at 31-34). The trial court then permitted the parties to ask
    additional questions based on this inquiry.
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    ii. Judicial Bias & Due Process
    {¶27} At the outset, we take note of the limitations on our review of Urbina’s
    claims of judicial bias. “Authority to pass upon the disqualification of a judge of
    the Court of Common Pleas is vested in the Chief Justice under Section 5(C) of
    Article IV of the Ohio Constitution * * *.” Beer v. Griffith, 
    54 Ohio St.2d 440
    , 441
    (1978). For this reason, a court of appeals lacks the “authority to pass upon
    disqualification or to void the judgment of the trial court upon that basis.” Id. at
    441-442. “The determination of a claim that a common pleas judge is biased or
    prejudiced is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chief Justice of the Supreme
    Court of Ohio, or his designee.” (Emphasis sic.) State v. Holdcroft, 3d Dist.
    Wyandot No. 16-10-04, 
    2010-Ohio-6262
    , ¶ 25.
    {¶28} Nevertheless, where judicial bias is alleged, “a due process issue may
    still exist because a ‘criminal trial before a biased judge is fundamentally unfair * *
    *.’” State v. Bender, 3d Dist. Union No. 14-21-01, 
    2021-Ohio-1931
    , ¶ 19, quoting
    State v. Wieser, 3d Dist. Allen No. 1-18-15, 
    2018-Ohio-3619
    , ¶ 23; see State v.
    Dendinger, 3d Dist. Seneca No. 13-18-38, 
    2019-Ohio-2158
    , ¶ 23-24; State v.
    Corchado, 7th Dist. Mahoning No. 16 MA 0155, 
    2017-Ohio-4390
    , ¶ 13-14.
    Judicial bias has been described by the Supreme Court of Ohio as “a
    hostile feeling or spirit of ill will or undue friendship or favoritism
    toward one of the litigants or his attorney, with the formation of a
    fixed anticipatory judgment on the part of the judge, as
    contradistinguished from an open state of mind which will be
    governed by the law and the facts.”
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    Wieser at ¶ 23, quoting State ex rel. Pratt v. Weygandt, 
    164 Ohio St. 463
     (1956),
    paragraph four of the syllabus. “However, ‘[a] judge is presumed to follow the law
    and not to be biased, and the appearance of bias or prejudice must be compelling to
    overcome these presumptions.’” 
    Id.,
     quoting In re Disqualification of George, 
    100 Ohio St.3d 1241
    , 
    2003-Ohio-5489
    , ¶ 5.
    iii. The trial court’s questioning did not evince bias on the part of the trial
    court, and Urbina’s trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object.
    {¶29} Trial courts enjoy broad discretion with respect to the questioning of
    witnesses. “In regard to the examination of witnesses, the trial judge is something
    more than a mere umpire or sergeant at arms to preserve order in the courtroom.”
    State v. Davis, 
    79 Ohio App.3d 450
    , 456 (4th Dist.1992). The trial court “has active
    duties to perform in maintaining justice and in seeing that the truth is developed and
    may, for such purpose, put proper questions to the witnesses, and even leading
    questions.” 
    Id.
    {¶30} Evid.R. 614(B) recognizes the court’s authority in this domain,
    allowing that “[t]he court may interrogate witnesses, in an impartial manner,
    whether called by itself or by a party.” “‘In absence of any showing of bias,
    prejudice, or prodding of a witness to elicit partisan testimony, it will be presumed
    that the trial court acted with impartiality [in propounding to the witness questions
    from the bench] in attempting to ascertain a material fact or to develop the truth.’”
    State v. Baston, 
    85 Ohio St.3d 418
    , 426 (1999), quoting Jenkins v. Clark, 7 Ohio
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    App.3d 93, 98 (2d Dist.1982). “A trial court’s interrogation of a witness is not
    deemed partial for purposes of Evid.R. 614(B) merely because the evidence elicited
    during the questioning is potentially damaging to the defendant.”          State v.
    Blankenship, 
    102 Ohio App.3d 534
    , 548 (12th Dist.1995).
    {¶31} Pursuant to Evid.R. 101(C)(3), most of the Rules of Evidence,
    including Evid.R. 614(B), are inapplicable to community-control revocation
    hearings. Nonetheless, Evid.R. 614(B) serves as a guide for trial-court questioning
    in the community-control revocation setting. It would make little sense for a trial
    court to have less authority to question witnesses at a revocation hearing than at a
    criminal trial. To the contrary, “a trial court enjoys even greater freedom in
    questioning witnesses during [non-jury proceedings] because the court cannot
    prejudicially influence a jury with its questions or demeanor.” Yurkowski v. Univ.
    of Cincinnati, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 11AP-974, 
    2013-Ohio-242
    , ¶ 61.
    {¶32} Here, nothing in the trial court’s questioning of Berry suggests
    favoritism toward the State or hostility toward Urbina. During redirect examination,
    Berry testified that if Urbina had been granted permission to leave Texas and come
    to Ohio, she would have expected to receive a copy of his travel permit. However,
    Berry’s initial testimony included little information about what travel permits are,
    the procedures for issuance and use of travel permits, and whether Texas issues
    travel permits in the same manner as Ohio.         These issues were relevant to
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    understanding whether Urbina had violated the terms of his community control by
    coming to Ohio, and the trial court’s questioning produced needed clarification.
    Nothing about the trial court’s questioning indicates that it had prejudged the matter,
    that it was trying to elicit testimony to bolster the State’s case, or that it had some
    vendetta against Urbina. Therefore, as the trial court’s questioning does not betray
    bias, prejudice, or partiality, we conclude that the trial court did not violate Urbina’s
    right to due process. See State v. Schwartz, 12th Dist. Clermont Nos. CA2019-04-
    029, CA2019-04-030 and CA2019-04-031, 
    2019-Ohio-4912
    , ¶ 31; State v.
    Greenway, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-160511, 
    2017-Ohio-7729
    , ¶ 5-13.
    {¶33} Nor was Urbina’s trial counsel ineffective for failing to object to the
    trial court’s questioning. To sustain a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the
    defendant must demonstrate that counsel’s performance was deficient or
    unreasonable under the circumstances. State v. Kole, 
    92 Ohio St.3d 303
    , 306 (2001),
    citing Strickland v. Washington, 
    466 U.S. 668
    , 687, 
    104 S.Ct. 2052
     (1984). Counsel
    does not perform deficiently or unreasonably by failing to object to entirely
    permissible questioning. See State v. Hunter, 
    131 Ohio St.3d 67
    , 
    2011-Ohio-6524
    ,
    ¶ 76-89; State v. Mieczkowsk, 7th Dist. Jefferson No. 17 JE 0016, 
    2018-Ohio-2775
    ,
    ¶ 82-84, 88. Thus, because the trial court’s questioning of Berry was proper, Urbina
    cannot establish that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object. See State
    v. Wortham, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-01-1449, 
    2002-Ohio-3976
    , ¶ 58-61 (trial counsel
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    Case Nos. 4-21-08 and 4-21-09
    was not ineffective for failing to object to trial court’s questioning of a witness
    because trial court’s questioning was appropriate, displaying no “obvious bias,
    prejudice,” or improper partiality).
    {¶34} Urbina’s third and fourth assignments of error are overruled.
    IV. Conclusion
    {¶35} For the foregoing reasons, Urbina’s assignments of error are
    overruled.   Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant herein in the
    particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the judgments of the Defiance County
    Court of Common Pleas.
    Judgments Affirmed
    WILLAMOWSKI, P.J. and SHAW, J., concur.
    /jlr
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