State v. Jones, 07 Ma 159 (6-27-2008)
State v. Jones, 07 Ma 159 (6-27-2008)
Opinion of the Court
{para; 1} This timely appeal comes for consideration upon the record in the trial court and the parties' briefs. Defendant-Appellant, Marcus Jones, appeals the decision of the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas that sentenced him for one count of attempted murder with a firearm specification after this court remanded the case for resentencing pursuant to State v. Foster,
{para; 2} We have held that a trial court must indicate in the record that it has considered these statutes when sentencing a felony offender. This is not a very high hurdle for a trial court to reach and the trial court did so in this case. When imposing a sentence on Jones at the resentencing hearing, the trial court stated that it took "everything into account" and recognized "the seriousness of the offense" when sentencing Jones. This is sufficient to indicate that it considered those statutes, especially given the fact that the trial court had explicitly considered those statutes when it first imposed the same sentence. Accordingly, the trial court's decision is affirmed.
{para; 6} "The trial court erred when it sentenced Defendant-Appellant Marcus Jones to a maximum term of imprisonment without considering R.C.
{para; 7} R.C.
{para; 8} "A court that sentences an offender for a felony shall be guided by the overriding purposes of felony sentencing. The overriding purposes of felony sentencing are to protect the public from future crime by the offender and others and to punish the offender. To achieve those purposes, the sentencing court shall consider the need for incapacitating the offender, deterring the offender and others from future crime, rehabilitating the offender, and making restitution to the victim of the offense, the public, or both."
{para; 9} R.C.
{para; 10} Prior to the effective date of S.B. 2 in 1996, a silent record gave rise to a presumption that the trial court considered R.C.
{para; 11} In State v. Foster,
{para; 12} "Although after Foster the trial court is no longer compelled to make findings and give reasons at the sentencing hearing because R.C.
{para; 13} In Bamette, we recently concluded that "nothing inFoster made the requirements of R.C.
{para; 14} Although we have not commented on whether a trial court must indicate in the record that it has considered R.C.
{para; 15} In this case, Jones was previously sentenced and one could argue that we should excuse any failure to indicate that the trial court considered those statutes here as long as it considered those statutes previously and imposed the same sentence. However, in State v.Bezak,
{para; 17} This second set of cases is most similar to the one currently under appeal. In this case, the trial court did not specifically cite to R.C.
{para; 18} The trial court's statement in this case is less substantive than many of the statements courts have made in other cases. For example, in Starkey, we held that the trial court had satisfied its duties under R.C.
{para; 19} "the judge was particularly moved by the victim's physical and mental injuries. Physical and mental injuries are listed as sentencing factors in R.C.
{para; 21} Moreover, the prosecutor mentioned at the sentencing hearing that the trial court had previously imposed a maximum sentence and that this court remanded the case solely because of the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Foster. Defense counsel then expressed his belief that the trial court would reimpose that same sentence, but asked for a reduced sentence without offering any explanation why that should be done. The trial court stated that it had "taken everything into account" after hearing these arguments and we interpret this as an indication that it considered the facts and issues argued to it by the parties. When this statement is combined with "the seriousness of the offense" statement and defense counsel's failure to give any principled reason for applying a lesser sentence, we believe the trial court satisfied its obligation to indicate that it considered R.C.
{para; 22} For these reasons, we conclude Jones's sole assignment of error is without merit and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. *Page 1
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Marcus Jones
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published