State v. Ford, Unpublished Decision (11-7-2007)
State v. Ford, Unpublished Decision (11-7-2007)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 1} Appellant, the State of Ohio, appeals an order of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas that purports to sentence Defendant-Appellee, Sammy Carey Ford, for his conviction on the charge of felonious assault, a felony of the second degree. Because this court lacks jurisdiction, we dismiss.
{¶ 3} On May 18, 2006, the State moved the trial court to reconsider Defendant's plea or, in the alternative, to sentence Defendant on the felonious assault conviction. The trial court denied the motion, and the State moved for leave to appeal the trial court's decision to this court. We granted leave and reversed the decision of the trial court, holding that the trial court did not have the authority to refuse to sentence Defendant. State v. Ford, 9th Dist. No. 23269,
{¶ 4} Defendant appeared in court for sentencing once again on March 26, 2007. Two days later, the trial court ordered the following:
"IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Defendant be sentenced to 2 years of incarceration, however, the presumption for incarceration is *Page 3 rebutted. A prior sentence was imposed on the companion offenses of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, as contained in Count 3, and VIOLATING A PROTECTION ORDER, as contained in Cout 4. The Defendant is given credit for all time served as of the date of sentencing, March 26, 2007, and the balance of his sentence is suspended for good behavior demonstrated."
The State appealed the sentence pursuant to R.C.
"This Court has previously explained that Crim.R. 32(C) requires that a trial court's judgment of conviction contain (1) the plea, (2) the verdict or findings, (3) the sentence, (4) the signature of the trial judge, and (5) the time stamp of the clerk to indicate journalization. Courts have interpreted these requirements as imposing `a mandatory duty [on the trial court] to deal with each and every charge prosecuted against a defendant,' and `[t]he failure of a trial court to comply renders the judgment of the trial court substantively deficient under Crim.R. 32[ (C) ].' Therefore, the failure of an entry *Page 4 to dispose of the court's ruling as to each prosecuted charge renders the order of the trial court merely interlocutory." (Internal citations omitted.) Deshich, at *2, quoting State v. Brooks (May 16, 1991), 8th Dist. No. 58548.
{¶ 6} In State v. Miller, 9th Dist. No. 06CA0046-M,
{¶ 7} This case illustrates well the need for this rule. As we noted in Ford I, the trial court refused to sentence Defendant on the charge of felonious assault. As a result, the order sentencing Defendant on the charge of domestic violence remained interlocutory in nature, leaving Defendant without recourse to appeal *Page 5 and the State in a procedural quagmire. Over one and one-half years after the date of that journal entry, Defendant's right to appeal that sentence remains unclear because, while the trial court's journal entry at issue in this appeal fully complies with the requirements reiterated by this court in Miller, it does so only with respect to a single charge alleged against Defendant.
Appeal dismissed.
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). The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30.
*Page 6Costs taxed to Appellant.
WHITMORE, J.CONCURS.
Dissenting Opinion
DISSENTS, SAYING:
{¶ 9} I respectfully dissent. Based on my concurrence in State v.Miller, 9th Dist. No. 06CA0046-M,
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