In re H.V.

2014 Ohio 812, 7 N.E.3d 1173, 138 Ohio St. 3d 408
Ohio Supreme Court·Decided March 13, 2014·No. 2012-1688·Published·Cited by 44 cases

Opinions

O’Neill, J.

{¶ 1} In this case, we are asked to decide whether a juvenile court has the authority to commit a delinquent juvenile to the Ohio Department of Youth Services (“ODYS”) for a minimum period in excess of 30 days for violating his supervised release. We must then decide whether a juvenile court, when committing a juvenile to the ODYS for a supervised-release violation, can order that the commitment period be served consecutively to the commitment period imposed for the crime that resulted in the violation of supervised release. We answer both questions in the affirmative.

Facts and Procedural History

{¶ 2} On December 8, 2010, a Lorain County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Court judge found H.V. to be delinquent for having committed an act that if committed by an adult would have constituted attempted domestic violence, a felony of the fourth degree. At the time of the offense, H.V. was on supervised release for committing two earlier domestic-violence offenses. Thus, H.V. had also been charged with violating the terms of his supervised release, but that charge was merged with the attempted-domestic-violence charge. The court committed H.V. to the ODYS for a minimum term of six months.

{¶ 3} On March 17, 2011, roughly three months after his “minimum six-month commitment” to the ODYS, H.V. was placed on supervised release from the ODYS. H.V. had been involved in two fights with other juveniles before being released.

{¶ 4} Approximately six months after H.V.’s release, H.V., then age 16, was charged with second-degree felonious assault in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(1). He was also charged with violating the terms of his supervised release in the 2010 domestic-violence case.

{¶ 5} On November 23, 2011, the juvenile court judge conducted a dispositional hearing, revoked H.V.’s supervised release, and committed H.V. to the ODYS for a minimum period of 90 days for violating the conditions of his supervised release. Five days later, the judge found H.V. to be delinquent and committed him to the ODYS for a minimum term of one year for the felonious assault. The court order [410] specified that the 90-day term imposed for the violation of supervised release would run consecutively to the one-year term imposed for the felonious assault.

{¶ 6} On December 27, 2011, H.V. appealed to the Ninth District Court of Appeals, asserting four assignments of error, two of which are relevant here. First, H.V. alleged that pursuant to R.C. 5139.52(F), the juvenile court erred in committing him to the ODYS for a minimum period in excess of 30 days for violating the terms of his supervised release. Second, he claimed that pursuant to R.C. 2152.17(F), the juvenile court erred when it ordered H.V. to serve his sentences consecutively. The Ninth District rejected both of H.V.’s claims and affirmed the order of the trial court.

{¶ 7} H.V. now seeks this court’s review of the court of appeals’ judgment. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the Ninth District.

Analysis

{¶ 8} A juvenile court’s disposition order will be upheld unless the court abused its discretion. In re D.S., 111 Ohio St.3d 361, 2006-Ohio-5851, 856 N.E.2d 921. The term “abuse of discretion” implies that the trial court’s attitude was unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable. Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219, 450 N.E.2d 1140 (1983).

{¶ 9} In reviewing a case that originated in the juvenile court, we keep in mind the overriding purposes for dispositions of juvenile offenders as set forth by the General Assembly in R.C. 2152.01: to provide for the care, protection, and mental and physical development of the juvenile offender; to protect the public interest and safety; to hold the juvenile offender accountable; to restore the victim; and to rehabilitate the juvenile offender. The statute further states that these purposes are to be achieved “by a system of graduated sanctions and services.” R.C. 2152.01(A).

{¶ 10} First, we are asked to determine whether a juvenile court has the authority under R.C. 5139.52(F) to commit a delinquent juvenile to the ODYS for a minimum period in excess of 30 days for a violation of supervised release. H.V. asserts that the juvenile court erred in committing him to the ODYS for a minimum period longer than 30 days. H.V. argues that the Revised Code does not authorize a juvenile court to commit á delinquent juvenile to the ODYS for a specific minimum period for a violation of supervised release. He argues that R.C. 5139.52(F) authorizes the juvenile court to return a delinquent juvenile to the ODYS but does not authorize the court to determine the length of the commitment. H.V. suggests that following a revocation of supervised release, only the ODYS has the authority to impose a new period of incarceration beyond 30 days. We disagree.

[411] {¶ 11} R.C. 5139.52(F) clearly authorizes juvenile courts to return juveniles who have committed serious violations of the terms of their supervised release to the ODYS for a minimum period of 30 days. The statute provides:

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In re H.V., 2014 Ohio 812, 7 N.E.3d 1173, 138 Ohio St. 3d 408 (Ohio 2014).

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