State v. Cimpritz

In State v. Cimpritz (1953),158 Ohio St. 490, 110 N.E.2d 416, the Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed a decision reversing an attempted burglary conviction, because the indictment did not state that Cimpritz acted "maliciously and forcibly" when he attempted to break and enter. Because intent was an essential element of the crime of attempted burglary, the Supreme Court concluded that the indictment was void. The Cimpritz Court further reasoned that the indictment was not subject to the curative provisions of Sections 13437-28 and 13437-29 of the General Code (now Sections 2941.29 and 2941.30), which authorize correction in the form or substance of an indictment. The Court wrote, in dicta, that those provisions apply only to an indictment that charges an offense, "but they do not contemplate the making of a good indictment out of one which states no offense. There must be something effectual on which those sections can operate to make them available." Id., syllabus at paragraph four.