State v. Bode

2013 Ohio 2134
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided May 22, 2013·No. 12-CA-33·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, OHIO

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

JUDGES:

STATE OF OHIO : Hon. W. Scott Gwin, P.J.

: Hon. William B. Hoffman, J.

Plaintiff-Appellee : Hon. Sheila G. Farmer, J.

:

-vs- :

: Case No. 12-CA-33 JASON T. BODE :

:

Defendant-Appellant : OPINION

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Criminal appeal from the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 12-CR-

0006

JUDGMENT: Affirmed

DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: May 22, 2013

APPEARANCES: For Plaintiff-Appellee For Defendant-Appellant

JOCELYN KELLY SCOTT WOOD DARREN MEADE 144 East Main Street 239 West Main Street, Ste. 101 Box 667 Lancaster, OH 43130 Lancaster, OH 43130

Gwin, P.J.

{¶1} Appellant Jason Bode [“Bode”] appeals from his convictions and sentences in the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas on two counts of OVI, each with a specification that he had previously been convicted of or pleaded guilty to five or more equivalent offenses. The appellee is the State of Ohio.

Facts and Procedural History

{¶2} On May 28, 2011, Bode was arrested by Officer David Thompson of the Lancaster Police Department and charged with an OVI, in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(1). He was cited into Fairfield County Municipal Court under Case Number TRC-11-5042.

{¶3} On December 29, 2011, while Case Number TRC-11-5042 was still pending in the Fairfield County Municipal Court, Bode was arrested by Officer Brian St. Clair of the Lancaster Police Department and charged with an OVI, in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(A). This case was filed as a felony complaint in the Fairfield County Municipal Court under Case Number CRA-11-3348, but was subsequently dismissed by the state for future indictment.

{¶4} On January 6, 2012, Bode was indicted by the Fairfield County Grand Jury under Case Number 12-CR-6 and charged with five counts of OVI with specifications to each of those counts. Counts one, two and three related to Bode's arrest on May 28, 2011, and Counts four and five related to Bode's arrest on December 29, 2011.

{¶5} Count one of the Indictment was an OVI charge from May 28, 2011, based on Bode being under the influence, with an allegation of five OVI convictions in the 20 years prior, which made the charge a felony of the fourth degree. The specification to

Count one also alleged five OVI convictions in the 20 years prior, which subjected Bode to one to five years of additional, mandatory prison time pursuant to R.C. 2941.1413. Four of Bode's prior OVI convictions were as an adult in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1998. The remaining OVI conviction was a juvenile adjudication in 1992 in Franklin County Juvenile Court.

{¶6} Count two was an OVI charge from May 28, 2011, based on Bode's refusal to submit to a chemical test, with an allegation of five OVI convictions in the 20 years prior, which made the charge a felony of the fourth degree. Count two also had a specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.1413.

{¶7} Count three was an OVI charge from May 28, 2011, based on Bode having a prohibited level of alcohol in his system as measured by a blood test, with an allegation of five OVI convictions in the 20 years prior, which made the charge a felony of the fourth degree. Count three also had a specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.1413.

{¶8} Count four was an OVI charge from December 29, 2011, based on Bode being under the influence with an allegation of five OVI convictions in the 20 years prior, which made the charge a felony of the fourth degree. Count four also had a specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.1413.

{¶9} Count five was an OVI charge from December 29, 2011, based on Bode having a prohibited level of alcohol in his system as measured by a breath test, with an allegation of five OVI convictions in the 20 years prior, which made the charge a felony of the fourth degree. Count five also had a specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.1413.

Fairfield County, Case No. 12-CA-33 4

{¶10} On February 16, 2012, the state orally moved the trial court to sever Counts one through three from Counts four and five of the Indictment. Bode did not object. The trial court granted this motion by Judgment Entry filed May 2, 2012.

{¶11} On March 1, 2012, Bode filed a Motion in Limine/Motion to Suppress to exclude or suppress Bode’s prior OVI juvenile adjudication in 1992 on the basis that Bode did not have legal counsel nor did Bode validly waive his right to legal counsel at the time of the juvenile adjudication in 1992.

{¶12} On March 14, 2012, an oral hearing was held on Bode’s Motion in Limine/Motion to Suppress, which was overruled by the trial court by written decision filed April 2, 2012.

{¶13} On April 5, 2012, Bode filed a Motion to Dismiss Counts 1, 2 and 3 of the Indictment due to the State’s failure to bring Bode to trial within the statutory time limits prescribed by R.C. 2945.71.

{¶14} On April 23, 2012, an oral hearing was held on Bode’s Motion to Dismiss, which was overruled by the trial court pursuant to a written decision filed May 2, 2012.

{¶15} On May 2, 2012, pursuant to a plea agreement with the state, Bode entered pleas of no contest to, and was found guilty by the trial court of, Counts 3 and 5 of the Indictment, with the specifications. The remaining counts and specifications in the Indictment were dismissed by the state pursuant to the plea agreement.

{¶16} On June 8, 2012, a contested sentencing hearing was held by the trial court. Bode argued that he should be sentenced on the OVI’s as misdemeanors only and not sentenced on the specifications on the basis that a juvenile adjudication for OVI is not an “equivalent offense,” pursuant to R.C. 4511.181, and based on double jeopardy. The trial court rejected these arguments and sentenced Bode to a total of 8- 1/2 years in prison, with 5-1/2 years suspended for community control and 3 years to serve of mandatory prison time. Further, the trial court refused to grant Bode 30 days of jail time credit for 30 days he spent in the Fairfield County Jail on the pending charges in the Indictment and for a misdemeanor probation violation.

Assignments of Error

{¶17} Bode raises four assignments of error,

{¶18} “I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING APPELLANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE/MOTION TO SUPPRESS.

{¶19} “II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING APPELLANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS.

{¶20} “III. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN SENTENCING APPELLANT TO THE OVI’S AS FELONIES OF THE FOURTH DEGREE AND IN SENTENCING APPELLANT ON THE SPECIFICATIONS.

{¶21} “IV. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT GRANTING 30 ADDITIONAL DAYS OF JAIL TIME CREDIT TO APPELLANT.”

I.

{¶22} In his first assignment of error, Bode argues an uncounseled conviction cannot be used to enhance the penalties for a later conviction if the earlier conviction resulted in a sentence of confinement.

{¶23} In the landmark decision of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct.

792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799(1963), the United States Supreme Court held an indigent defendant was entitled to court appointed counsel. Subsequently, the High Court narrowed this

Fairfield County, Case No. 12-CA-33 6

Right, holding “the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution require only that no indigent criminal defendant be sentenced to a term of imprisonment unless the state has afforded him the right to assistance of appointed counsel in his defense.” Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367, 99 S.Ct. 1158, 59 L.Ed. 2d 383(1979). Accord, Nichols v. United States, 511 U.S. 738, 743 114 S.Ct. 1921, 128 L.Ed.2d 745(1994); State v. Brandon, 45 Ohio St.3d 85, 86, 543 N.E.2d 501, 503(1989). (“This is not to say that counsel is required in all instances. Indeed, in Scott, supra, the court essentially held that uncounseled misdemeanor convictions are constitutionally valid if the offender is not actually incarcerated.”); State v. Smith, 5th Dist. No. 2010-CA-00335, 2011-Ohio- 3206.

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