State v. Gray, Unpublished Decision (9-7-2006)
State v. Gray, Unpublished Decision (9-7-2006)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Ernest Gray, III, appeals from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas sentencing him to a total of nine years in prison. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.{¶ 2} On September 19, 2003, defendant was indicted on one count of attempted aggravated burglary, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 3} In April 2004, the case was tried before a jury. At the end of the trial, the one-year firearm specifications were dismissed as to each of the six counts. The jury found defendant guilty of one count of attempted burglary, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 4} The trial court imposed prison terms of six months on the attempted burglary count; two years on each of the felonious assault counts with an additional three years for each of the firearm specifications; and two years on the improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation count with an additional three years for the firearm specification. The court ordered the sentence on the attempted burglary count to be served concurrently with the other counts, which were ordered to be served consecutively with each other.
{¶ 5} Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence to this court. See State v. Gray, Franklin App. No. 04AP-938,
{¶ 6} On December 8, 2005, the trial court held a resentencing hearing pursuant to this court's decision in Gray. At the hearing, the trial court indicated its understanding that, upon remand from this court, it could only change defendant's multiple-offense sentence as to the firearm specifications, and that it could not otherwise change his sentence. Defendant's counsel concurred in that assessment.
{¶ 7} Thus, by judgment entry filed December 9, 2005, the trial court imposed the same multiple-offense sentence that was previously imposed, except it changed the sentencing as to the firearm specifications. Specifically, the trial court imposed prison terms of six months on the attempted burglary count; two years on each of the felonious assault counts; two years on the improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation count; and three years on the firearm specifications. The court ordered that the firearm specifications are to be served concurrently with each other for a total of three years. The court further ordered the sentence on the attempted burglary count to be served concurrently with the other counts, which were ordered to be served consecutively with each other, and consecutively to the three-year firearm specification sentence, for a total of nine years in prison.
{¶ 8} Defendant appeals from that judgment and has set forth the following single assignment of error:
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO THE PREJUDICE OF APPELLANT BY SENTENCING HIM IN VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS OF LAW UNDER THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
{¶ 9} Under his assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court improperly engaged in judicial fact-finding when it resentenced him. In support of his argument, defendant citesBlakely v. Washington (2004),
{¶ 10} In Apprendi, at 490, the United States Supreme Court held that, "[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt." In Blakely, at 303, the United States Supreme Court, in applying the rule in Apprendi, held that the statutory maximum is "the maximum sentence a judge may imposesolely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdictor admitted by the defendant." (Emphasis sic.)
{¶ 11} After the trial court entered judgment on December 9, 2005, but before the parties filed their briefs in this appeal, the Supreme Court of Ohio released Foster. In Foster, the Supreme Court, following Apprendi and Blakely, found portions of Ohio's felony sentencing scheme unconstitutional because those portions required judicial fact-finding in violation of a defendant's
{¶ 12} In this appeal, defendant cites both State v.Hernandez, Franklin App. No. 05AP-112, 2006-Ohio-1207, andState v. Alexander, Franklin App. No. 05AP-192, 2006-Ohio-1298, as support for his argument that this case must be remanded for resentencing. In Hernandez and Alexander, the defendants challenged their non-minimum and/or consecutive sentences. Relying on Foster, this court remanded both matters for resentencing. However, presumably because the issue was not raised, this court did not analyze, in either opinion, the issue of waiver as it relates to a challenge of an imposed prison sentence.
{¶ 13} This court has recently held that "a Blakely challenge is waived by a defendant sentenced after Blakely if it was not raised in the trial court." State v. Draughon, Franklin App. No. 05AP-860, 2006-Ohio-2445, at ¶ 8. Defendant was originally sentenced in August 2004 and was resentenced in December 2005. Blakely was decided on June 24, 2004. Defendant's counsel raised the issue of Blakely at the August 17, 2004 sentencing hearing. However, the Blakely issue was not raised in the first appeal to this court from the original sentencing judgment. Furthermore, on remand from this court, defendant did not make a contemporaneous objection to his sentence on the basis of the Blakely decision.
{¶ 14} In addition, insofar as the second sentencing hearing was not an entirely new independent sentencing proceeding, considering that the authority of the trial court was limited to resentencing defendant as to the firearm specifications, res judicata bars defendant from raising the Blakely issue in this appeal. "`Where an argument could have been raised on an initial appeal, res judicata dictates that it is inappropriate to consider that same argument on a second appeal following remand.'"State v. Hutton,
{¶ 15} Therefore, we find defendant's Blakely challenge in this appeal not well-taken. Consequently, we overrule defendant's single assignment of error and affirm the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Judgment affirmed.
Bryant and Brown, J., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Ernest L. Gray, III
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Unpublished