State v. Jordan, Unpublished Decision (8-10-2000)
State v. Jordan, Unpublished Decision (8-10-2000)
Opinion of the Court
Appellant was indicted on two counts of drug trafficking, one count of violation of drug law, and one count of possession of criminal tools. He did not appear and a capias was issued on August 17, 1995. On July 16, 1997, appellant was arrested in Nevada. He waived extradition. Appellant was incarcerated in Nevada until September 29, 1997, when he was extradited to Ohio. On October 7, 1997, he arrived at the Cuyahoga County jail.
Appellant pled guilty to two counts of attempted drug trafficking (Count 1 and 2) and one count of possession of criminal tools (Count 4). He was sentenced to two years on count one, two years on count two, and one year on count 4, to run consecutively.
On June 17, 1998, appellant filed a Motion to Reduce Sentence. He requested the sentence be reduced by the 85 days he was in prison in Nevada. The trial court denied this motion.
On March 15, 1999, appellant again moved for jail-time credit, for the jail time in Nevada. The trial court denied the motion, stating that it lacked jurisdiction to grant credit for time served from other jurisdictions.
Appellant's sole assignment of error states:
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY DENYING APPELLANT AND (SIC) ADDITIONAL (85) DAYS JAIL-TIME CREDIT, FOR WHICH THE APPELLANT WAS HELD FOR EXTRADITION IN CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA ARISING OUT OF THE OFFENSE FOR WHICH THE APPELLANT WAS CONVICTED AND SENTENCED IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CASE NUMBER: CR326396.
R.C.
Accordingly, appellant's assignment of error is overruled.
The decision of the trial court is affirmed.
It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant its costs herein taxed.
The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Common Pleas Court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant's conviction having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated. Case remanded to the trial court for execution of sentence.
JAMES M. PORTER, J., CONCURS KILBANE, J., DISSENTS (SEE ATTACHED DISSENTING OPINION)
ANN DYKE, ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
Dissenting Opinion
On this appeal from an order of Judge Anthony O. Calabrese, I respectfully dissent because the majority opinion sidesteps the jurisdiction issue presented and agrees with the State's contention that Jordan, pro se, submitted insufficient proof that he was jailed in Nevada only for the Ohio warrant and charges. The State never disputed that Jordan would be entitled to credit for time served in Nevada if he was incarcerated solely because of the Ohio charges, and not for any other offense committed independently in Nevada, see State v. McWilliams (1998),
I agree that the record is unclear on whether Jordan was jailed in Nevada only on the Ohio charges or if part or all of the eighty-five days for which he claims credit were for some other offense. However, the trial judge did not hear evidence on this issue, and determined instead that [t]his court lacks jurisdiction to grant jail time credit incurred in other jurisdictions. As shown supra, this is not the law. The judge was obligated to grant jail time credit for time served in any jurisdiction, so long as the time was served solely for the Ohio offenses. When the judge determined he lacked jurisdiction on the issue, Jordan was denied the opportunity to present evidence of the reasons for his incarceration in Nevada.
Jordan contended that he was arrested and jailed on an Ohio warrant, in Nevada, on July 16, 1997, and was immediately confronted with extradition papers. He waived extradition proceedings (Nev.Rev.Stat.
Although Jordan did not conclusively show his entitlement to Nevada jail time credit, the record distinctly showed the possibility of entitlement and further indicated that the State did not object to any of his requests for credit. When the judge determined that he lacked jurisdiction to consider Jordan's requests, he did not address the sufficiency of his proof. Jordan, therefore, had no notice that his requests would be challenged on such grounds and might very well have expected the State to accede to his request based upon a belief that it had records of and knew the circumstances of his Nevada detention.
I would remand this case with instructions that Jordan be allowed to prove his claim with clear and convincing evidence. The record indicates that the bill for the transfer from Nevada to Ohio was sent to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office and I would expect the prosecutor would have records of Jordan's Nevada arrest and extradition. Those records would indicate whether Jordan was held on some other charge in Nevada before being returned to Ohio and he should have the right to request production of these documents. Even absent such right, the judge should have authority to request their production, especially where the State has argued that the record is unclear. If those records are unclear, Jordan should be allowed the opportunity to request the appropriate governmental records from the State of Nevada and prove his claim.2
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