State v. Price, 162 Ohio App. 3d 677 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005)

In this case, the Ohio Court of Appeals upheld convictions for felonious assault and attempted felonious assault for the defendant, a hemophiliac living with HIV and Hepatitis C. After the defendant made numerous telephone calls to the police department, police were dispatched to defendant's home to investigate. Defendant became agitated and spit into the mouth and bit the arm of one of the officers.

The defendant was charged with both felonious assault and attempted felonious assault. The felonious assault law in Ohio states that "No person shall knowingly . . . cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another . . . by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordinance." The deadly weapon in this case was the defendant himself because of his HIV status. The defendant was found guilty in a jury trial and appealed, claiming that his convictions were not supported by sufficient evidence. The court held that because of defendant’s knowledge of his HIV status, he knew his saliva was a deadly weapon capable of inflicting physical harm to another when he purposely spit within close range of the officer’s face and mouth.