C.D. v. P.O.C.

2024 Ohio 1294
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 5, 2024
Docket2023-CA-15
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2024 Ohio 1294 (C.D. v. P.O.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
C.D. v. P.O.C., 2024 Ohio 1294 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

[Cite as C.D. v. P.O.C., 2024-Ohio-1294.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT CLARK COUNTY

C.D. nka C.A. : : Appellee : C.A. No. 2023-CA-15 : v. : Trial Court Case No. 00-JUV-0096 : P.O.C. : (Appeal from Common Pleas Court- : Juvenile Division) Appellant : :

...........

OPINION

Rendered on April 5, 2024

ADDIE KING, Attorney for Appellant

ROBERT LOGSDON, Attorney for Appellee, Child Support Enforcement Agency

.............

WELBAUM, J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, P.O.C., appeals from a trial court judgment sentencing him to 20

days in jail for failing to comply with purge conditions relating to non-payment of child

support. According to P.O.C., the trial court abused its discretion in imposing jail time

because he had made payments after the purge conditions were imposed and was then

unable to pay because he was incarcerated. P.O.C. also contends the court erred in -2-

failing to award him jail-time credit toward the sentence.

{¶ 2} For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that the court did not abuse

its discretion by sentencing P.O.C. for failure to comply with the purge conditions. We

further find that any jail-time credit claim is moot because P.O.C. completed the 20-day

jail sentence, and no possible relief can be afforded. Accordingly, the judgment of the

trial court will be affirmed.

I. Facts and Course of Proceedings

{¶ 1} This case began in February 2000 with the filing of an application for support

by C.A. and the Clark County Department of Human Services, Child Support Enforcement

Agency Division (“CSEA”). The application was brought against P.O.C., the alleged

father of C.A.’s minor child, who had been born in 1998. When the application was filed,

P.O.C.’s listed address was the London Correctional Institution.

{¶ 2} In April 2000, the court issued an order requiring P.O.C. to pay $296.43 per

month, effective July 29, 1998. This represented child support, birth costs, and payment

on the arrearage. No appeal was taken from the order. Subsequently, in November

2007, CSEA filed a contempt motion against P.O.C. for nonpayment of support, and

service was made on him at a residential address. After orally requesting and receiving

an extension of time to obtain counsel, P.O.C. failed to appear for a January 23, 2008

contempt hearing. The court found that P.O.C. owed $26,981.42 as of December 31,

2008, and held him in contempt. See Journal Entry (Jan. 28, 2008), p. 2-3.1

1 The date for the total arrearage was later corrected to December 31, 2007, per a nunc

pro tunc order entered on April 11, 2008. -3-

{¶ 3} The court sentenced P.O.C. to 30 days in jail, but it suspended imposition of

the sentence and allowed P.O.C. to purge the contempt by complying with court orders

for a year. The court’s order included paying $296.43 per month, with failure to pay each

month resulting in imposition of the suspended jail sentence. Id. at p. 3. No appeal was

taken from this order.

{¶ 4} In September 2008, CSEA filed a motion seeking imposition of the jail

sentence based on P.O.C.’s failure to comply with the purge order. However, in October

2008, the court dismissed the scheduled imposition hearing due to substantial

compliance. Entry (Oct. 29, 2008). In March 2009, CSEA filed another contempt

motion due to P.O.C.’s alleged failure to pay support as ordered. The court set a hearing

for April 15, 2009, and P.O.C. appeared for the hearing. Finding that P.O.C. had

admitted his failure to comply with the court’s prior orders, the court held P.O.C. in

contempt and sentenced him to 60 days in jail. The court again allowed P.O.C. to purge

the contempt by paying $296.43 per month and set imposition of sentence for July 20,

2009. See Magistrate’s Decision and Journal Entry Adopting the Magistrate’s Decision

(Apr. 17, 2009). P.O.C. did not object to the magistrate’s decision and did not appeal

the court’s order.

{¶ 5} After P.O.C. failed to appear at the July 2009 hearing, the court issued a

capias for his arrest. In September 2009, an adjustment review entry was filed, requiring

P.O.C. to continue to pay $45.00 per month in child support plus $21.67 per month on

the birth costs, for a total of $66.67 per month. At CSEA’s request, the court also

withdrew the capias because P.O.C. was then incarcerated. Order (Sept. 11, 2009). -4-

{¶ 6} Subsequently, the court filed a termination order ending the support

obligation as of July 29, 2016, because the child had reached the age of majority and was

no longer attending an accredited high school on a full-time basis. At the time, the court

calculated P.O.C.’s total unpaid child support obligation to be $25,474.44. Termination

Order (Sept. 28, 2016).

{¶ 7} On February 24, 2020, CSEA again filed a motion asking the court to hold

P.O.C. in contempt for failing to pay on the support arrearage. P.O.C. was served with

notice of an April 9, 2020 hearing, but the court then continued the hearing to July 9,

2020. After P.O.C. appeared for that hearing, the court found him in contempt. At that

time, the court found the unpaid support obligation to be $26,021.53 and sentenced

P.O.C. to 90 days in jail. The court’s order set imposition for September 14, 2020, and

said that P.O.C.’s failure to pay $67.57 each month would result in imposition of the

suspended jail sentence. Magistrate’s Decision and Journal Entry Adopting the

Magistrate’s Decision (July 15, 2020), p. 3.

{¶ 8} P.O.C. did not file objections to the magistrate’s decision and no appeal was

taken from the contempt decision. P.O.C. did appear for the September 14, 2020

hearing, and the court then rescheduled imposition for December 7, 2020. After P.O.C.

failed to appear in December, however, the court issued a capias for his arrest. The

court also set a bond of $33,000. Entry (Dec. 28, 2020), p. 1.

{¶ 9} More than two years later, P.O.C. was arrested and was given a copy of the

warrant. On March 13, 2023, the court held an imposition hearing on this case and

another P.O.C. support case (2008-JUV-1333). At that time, CSEA noted that P.O.C.’s -5-

most recent payment on the current case was $200 on September 17, 2020. Previously,

P.O.C. had made a $200 payment in August 2020. Transcript of Proceedings (Mar. 13,

2023 Imposition Hearing) (“Tr.”), 3-4. According to P.O.C., he had not made payments

after September 2020 due to COVID and confusion over where he should make

payments. Id. at 4-5. P.O.C. further said that he had been in jail since January 27, 2021

(for what appear to have been various criminal cases) and that he had a pretrial in another

criminal case in Clark County on March 22, 2023. The trial in that case was scheduled

for April 13, 2023. Id. at 6.

{¶ 10} During the March 2023 imposition hearing, P.O.C. said the bond for the

pending Clark County criminal case was $10,000 and that he was not going to post it.

Id. at 7. The court then imposed a 20-day jail sentence for failure to purge the contempt.

In this regard, the court noted that the purge sentence would end before the scheduled

April 2023 trial. As a result, nothing connected to the current case would keep P.O.C. in

jail if he resolved the Clark County case. Id. at 8-9. The court also stressed that

P.O.C.’s sentence for the pending contempts could have been 120 days. Id. at 9.

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Bluebook (online)
2024 Ohio 1294, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cd-v-poc-ohioctapp-2024.