State v. Burgess, Unpublished Decision (6-28-2000)
State v. Burgess, Unpublished Decision (6-28-2000)
Opinion of the Court
On December 26, 1998, Burgess broke into the home of a then-eighty-seven-year-old female, physically abused her, and robbed her. As a result, the Lorain County Grand Jury issued an indictment against Burgess on January 6, 1999, that contained the following counts: one count of aggravated burglary, a violation of R.C.
Burgess timely appeals, asserting two assignments of errors.
The trial court erred when it sentenced the Appellant to serve the maximum prison term authorized by law for the offense pleaded. Appellant appeals this maximum sentence as authorized by RC §2953.08 (A)(1)(b).In his first assignment of error, Burgess complained of the maximum sentence he received. At oral argument, however, counsel for Burgess conceded that the trial court had proceeded correctly and that no error existed in regard to Burgess's sentencing. Therefore, this Court need not address this assignment of error further. See State v. Beckett (Mar. 3, 2000), Lucas App. Nos. L-97-1073 and L-98-1272, unreported, appeal not allowed (2000),
89 Ohio St.3d 1426 (interpreting concession by appellant that an assigned error has no merit to mean that the assignment of error is withdrawn).
Appellant further avers that without access to the full presentence investigation report unduly limits the advocates and deprives the appellant and appellant's counsel of the necessary tools to prosecute an effective appeal of the sentence as envisioned by RC §2953.08 .Burgess argues in his second assignment of error that, because his appellate counsel does not have access to the complete contents of a presentence investigation report, "[t]his raises a bar to effective representation of appellant by counsel who does not have available to him or her all the information available to the Trial Court in deciding to impose the sentence the appellate counsel is bound to vigorously appeal." This argument is not well taken.
By conceding that the trial court did not err in conducting his sentencing and that the first assignment of error is without merit, Burgess has rendered this second assignment of error moot. If, as Burgess has conceded, he has no complaint about his sentencing, then it necessarily follows that any complaint concerning the use of the presentence investigation report insofar as it relates to the sentencing itself is subsumed in his lack of complaint — and therefore is also withdrawn. Even if the assigned error were not withdrawn, this Court's review of the transcript of the April 2, 1999 sentencing hearing reveals that Burgess never raised the issue of nondisclosure of the entirety of the presentence investigation report in the trial court.1 An appellate court need not address such an argument if it was not raised in the trial court. See, e.g., Gibson v. Meadow GoldDairy (2000),
Further, Burgess' appellate counsel has never sought leave from this Court to review the entirety of the presentence investigation report, nor has he even moved to supplement the record with said report. As such, Burgess attempts to complain that he has been prejudiced by not being able to do something that he has not even attempted to do; the assigned "error" never occurred.2 Burgess does not explain why such speculative error would entitle him to be resentenced to the minimum term of incarceration for a first-degree felony, which is the relief he has requested. This Court explained in State v. Vandal (Jan. 26, 2000), Medina App. No. 2983-M, unreported, that "an appellate court is not in the business of representing complaining parties. Rather, this Court is charged with the duty of resolving assignments of error, not writing them." This duty implicitly includes a disinclination on the part of this Court to fashion an argument supporting a requested remedy where the party seeking relief has failed to present a rationale justifying the relief sought.
The Court finds that there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common Pleas, County of Lorain, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.
Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(E).
Costs taxed to Appellant.
Exceptions.
__________________ DONNA J. CARR
BAIRD, P.J., SLABY, J., CONCUR.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.