City of Washington Court House v. McStowe

Due process of law protects an accused against conviction except upon “proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.” In re Winship (1970), 397 U. S. 358, 364. A penal statute or ordinance, pursuant to which one is charged, must be interpreted and applied strictly against the accuser, and liberally in favor of the accused. Mentor v. Giordano (1967), 9 Ohio St. 2d 140; State v. Conley (1947), 147 Ohio St. 351; State v. Meyers (1897), 56 Ohio St. 340.*

Ordinance No. 45-72 proscribes a person’s being “found in” a “home, place, room or…