In Re D.S.

2016 Ohio 1027, 54 N.E.3d 1184, 146 Ohio St. 3d 182
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 16, 2016
Docket2014-0607
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 2016 Ohio 1027 (In Re D.S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re D.S., 2016 Ohio 1027, 54 N.E.3d 1184, 146 Ohio St. 3d 182 (Ohio 2016).

Opinions

[183]*183O’Connor, CJ.

{¶ 1} In this appeal, we address the scheme for classifying juvenile sex offenders under R.C. 2152.83(B). We conclude that a determination of the juvenile offender’s age at the time of the offense is a condition precedent to the application of that scheme but can be made any time prior to or during the classification hearing. We also conclude that the imposition of classification upon release from a secure facility and for a time period beyond the offender’s attainment of age 18 or 21 does not violate the juvenile offender’s due-process rights or the prohibitions against double jeopardy in the United States and Ohio Constitutions. We accordingly affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.

Relevant Background

{¶ 2} On August 20, 2010, the state filed a complaint against appellant, D.S., a juvenile, alleging two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of public indecency. The victim was D.S.’s younger sibling. There was no specific allegation in the complaint regarding D.S.’s age at the time of the offenses, but D.S.’s date of birth was listed. The complaint alleged that the gross-sexual-imposition offenses occurred between August 2009 and June 2010. Thus, D.S. was 13 years old during a portion of the time frame during which, according to the complaint, the gross-sexual-imposition offenses were .committed and 14 years old for the remainder of the time frame.

{¶ 3} On October 13, 2010, D.S. admitted to the two counts of gross sexual imposition and the state dismissed the public-indecency charge. The juvenile court adjudicated D.S. delinquent on the two charges and postponed final disposition for six to seven weeks in order to review a predisposition report.

{¶ 4} At disposition on December 8, 2010, the juvenile court ordered D.S. committed to institutionalization with the Ohio Department of Youth Services (“DYS”) for two consecutive terms of at least six months but not beyond D.S.’s 21st birthday. The judgment entry of disposition also contained a handwritten notation that read: “Classification as a Juvenile Sex Offender Registrant is DEFERRED OR DELAYED Pending Efforts at Rehabilitation while committed to ODYS.” (Capitalization sic.)

{¶ 5} DYS released D.S. in March 2013, and the court scheduled a sex-offender-classification hearing for April 17, 2013. Two days prior to the hearing, [184]*184D.S. moved to oppose his classification as a juvenile-sex-offender registrant, arguing that he was ineligible for classification because he was under 14 years of age at the time the offenses were committed and because classification would violate the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. D.S. also requested, and the court granted, a continuance of the classification hearing.

{¶ 6} By memorandum dated April 17, 2013, the juvenile court found that the issue whether D.S. was 14 years of age at the time of the offenses would be the subject of an evidentiary hearing. The court explained, “[I]f the State of Ohio believes that sex offender registration is warranted, the State will have to present evidence to establish the youth’s age at the time of the commission of the offense. The issue cannot be resolved without an evidentiary hearing.”

{¶ 7} On April 30, 2013, the juvenile court rejected D.S.’s constitutional challenge to classification, denied D.S.’s request to cancel the classification hearing, and scheduled a hearing “to determine whether or not [D.S.] is subject to classification as a juvenile sex offender registrant.” In so doing, the court stated that it “could not have entered [the dispositional] order if the youth had not been at least 14 years of age at the time of the commission of the offenses.” But the court also stated that D.S. could present evidence that he was only 13 years old at the time of the offenses.

{¶ 8} On June 17, 2013, the court held a hearing with dual purposes: (1) an evidentiary hearing to determine whether D.S. was 14 years old at the time of the offenses and (2) a classification hearing to determine whether D.S. should be classified as a juvenile sex offender. At the beginning of the hearing, counsel for D.S. requested a ruling on his prior motion that holding an evidentiary hearing would violate D.S.’s constitutional rights. The court denied the motion and proceeded.

{¶ 9} During the hearing, the court explained that the evidentiary hearing and classification hearing were “all part and parcel.” The court heard testimony from a Licking County Department of Job and Family Services social worker and a Reynoldsburg Police Department detective, both of whom had investigated the allegations against D.S. Based on this testimony, the court found that D.S. “committed at least one offense, at least one count of gross sexual imposition when he was 14 years of age.”

{¶ 10} Next, the court heard argument regarding whether the court should exercise its discretion to classify D.S. as a juvenile-sex-offender registrant and, if so, the appropriate tier of classification. The court found that D.S. should be designated a juvenile-offender registrant and classified as a Tier II offender, which requires him to register in person with the appropriate sheriff every six months for a period of 20 years. The court explained that attainment of age 18 or 21 should not affect or terminate the order.

[185]*185{¶ 11} On D.S.’s appeal, the Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed. Specifically, the appellate court found that it was proper for the juvenile court to consider D.S.’s age at the time of the offenses during the classification hearing. 2014-Ohio-867, 2014 WL 895503, ¶ 47. The appellate court also rejected D.S.’s arguments that his classification violated the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Ohio Constitutions and that the classification -imposed a punitive sanction beyond the age jurisdiction of the juvenile court in violation of D.S.’s due-process rights. Id. at ¶ 76.

{¶ 12} We accepted review of D.S.’s discretionary appeal on the following propositions:

1. A juvenile court is without authority to hold an evidentiary hearing after a youth’s adjudication and disposition in order to allow the State to prove that a child was age-eligible for registration under Senate Bill 10. State v. Raber, 134 Ohio St.3d 350, 2012-Ohio-5636, 982 N.E.2d 684.
2. The timing mechanism of R.C. 2152.83(B) is unconstitutional because the imposition of classification at any time other than disposition violates the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Ohio Constitutions. State v. Raber, 134 Ohio St.3d 350, 2012-Ohio-5636, 982 N.E.2d 684.
3. The imposition of a punitive sanction that extends beyond the age jurisdiction of the juvenile court violates the Due Process Clauses of the United States and Ohio Constitutions.

See 139 Ohio St.3d 1428, 2014-Ohio-2725,11 N.E.3d 284.

Analysis

{¶ 13} The age of a delinquent child at the time the offense was committed determines whether and how the child may be classified as a sex offender. R.C. 2152.82 to 2152.86 and Chapter 2950 delineate Ohio’s statutory scheme for juvenile-sex-offender classification and registration. R.C. 2152.191 identifies which juvenile offenders are subject to that scheme:

If a child is adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re J.T.
2025 Ohio 4846 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
In re V.W.
2025 Ohio 2773 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
Brust v. Ohio Parole Bd.
2023 Ohio 4104 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
In re D.R.
2022 Ohio 4493 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2022)
State v. Nicholas
2022 Ohio 4276 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2022)
In re D.F.
2022 Ohio 3436 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
State v. Powers
2022 Ohio 2233 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
In re Z.M.
2022 Ohio 194 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
In re N.D.
2021 Ohio 4512 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
In re S.H.
2021 Ohio 3448 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
In re C.R.
2021 Ohio 2456 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
In re D.R.
2021 Ohio 1797 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
State v. Converse
2021 Ohio 1274 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
In re D.J.
2021 Ohio 278 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
In re R.B. (Slip Opinion)
2020 Ohio 5476 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2020)
State v. Buttery (Slip Opinion)
2020 Ohio 2998 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2020)
In re K.C.
2020 Ohio 836 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
In re N.W.
2020 Ohio 290 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
In re M.W.
2019 Ohio 4564 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
In re K.T.
2019 Ohio 4258 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2016 Ohio 1027, 54 N.E.3d 1184, 146 Ohio St. 3d 182, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-ds-ohio-2016.