State v. James, Unpublished Decision (12-8-1999)
State v. James, Unpublished Decision (12-8-1999)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
This is an appeal by Curtis Lewis James from the decision of the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas adjudicating him to be a sexual predator pursuant to R.C.
On December 15, 1994, a jury found defendant guilty of three counts of rape, with force or threat of force on one count, and one count of corruption of a minor. On that same day, the trial court found defendant guilty of three specifications for prior offenses and sentenced defendant as well. While serving his prison sentence, a sexual predator determination hearing was held. The trial court determined on July 30, 1999 that defendant was a sexual predator.
Defendant now appeals and raises six assignments of error. For his first assignment of error, defendant asserts:
The trial court erred, in violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution, in finding Mr. James to be a sexual predator.
Because the Ohio Supreme Court has held that the registration and notification provisions of R.C. Chapter 2950, Ohio's new sexual predator law, do not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution, we find the defendant's assignment of error is without merit and is overruled. State v. Cook (1998),
For his second assignment of error, defendant asserts:
The trial court erred, in violation of the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clauses of the
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section9 , ArticleI of the Ohio Constitution, in finding Mr. James to be a sexual predator.
Defendant argues that R.C.
For his third assignment of error, defendant asserts:
The trial court erred, in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the
Fifth andFourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Section10 , ArticleI of the Ohio Constitution, in finding Mr. James to be a sexual predator.
Defendant argues that the sexual predator statute subjects him to double jeopardy or two punishments for the same offense. Because the statute is not punitive in nature, this assignment of error is also overruled upon the authority of Cook, supra. SeeState v. Lawson, supra; State v. Johnson (Sept. 24, 1998), Franklin App. No. 97APA12-1585, unreported; State v. Naegele
(Jan. 12, 1998), Clermont App. No. CA97-04-043, unreported, affirmed,
For his fourth assignment of error, defendant asserts:
R.C. Chapter 2950, as amended by H.B. 180, provides no guidance as to how the factors in R.C.
2950.09 (B)(2) are to be considered and weighed, rendering the law vague, in violation of the Due Process Clauses of theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section16 , ArticleI of the Ohio Constitution.
Defendant challenges the sexual predator statute on the basis that it is unconstitutionally vague. In State v. Avery (1998),
For his fifth assignment of error, defendant asserts:
The trial court erred, in violation of Section
1 , ArticleI of the Ohio Constitution, in finding Mr. James to be a sexual predator, because Ohio's Sexual Predator Law is an invalid exercise of the police power and deprives individuals of their inalienable and natural-law rights.
Defendant contends that R.C. Chapter 2950 violates the Ohio Constitution because it is an invalid use of the State's police powers in that it is oppressive upon individuals and is an infringement upon an individual's rights as protected by the Ohio Constitution. Defendant cites State v. Williams (Jan. 29, 1999), Lake App. No. 97-L-191, unreported, discretionary appeal granted (1999),
For his last assignment of error, defendant asserts:
Mr. James was denied the effective assistance of counsel, a right secured by the
Sixth andFourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Sections10 and16 , ArticleI of the Ohio Constitution, when counsel failed to raise issues that would have changed the outcome of the sexual predator proceedings, had the lower court applied the appropriate standards.
Defendant argues that defense counsel was ineffective in failing to raise the constitutional issues he has presented to this court for review. As we have concluded in our discussions of defendant's assignments of error, defendant has presented no meritorious arguments. As a result, counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to raise these issues. Defendant's sixth assignment of error is overruled.
Having overruled all six of defendant's assignments of error, the judgment of the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas Court adjudicating defendant a sexual predator is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
BRYANT, P.J., and HADLEY, J., concur.
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