Drug Conviction Overturned by Appeals Court

By Brian Cole

Published on March 16, 2007

Dr. William Nucklos was convicted last year of 10 counts of felony drug trafficking and 10 counts of illegal processing of drug documents. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

At trial, prosecutors maintained that Nucklos operated an office in Springfield one day a week from which he sold prescription drugs illegally. Nucklos charged patients up to $200 per prescription from July 2001 to October 2002, prosecutors claimed.

The Second District Court of Appeals, which consists of a three-judge panel, reversed the convictions, sending the case back to Clark County Common Pleas Court.

The appeals court said it reversed the convictions because the judge in the trial gave the jury incorrect instructions that shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution to Nucklos. The appeals court also found that the trial court allowed prosecutors to present evidence about Nucklos’ other patients that did not relate to the charges in the case.

Comment on this article →