State v. Cowen

854 N.E.2d 579, 167 Ohio App. 3d 233, 2006 Ohio 3191
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 23, 2006
DocketNo. 21338.
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 854 N.E.2d 579 (State v. Cowen) 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
State v. Cowen, 854 N.E.2d 579, 167 Ohio App. 3d 233, 2006 Ohio 3191 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

Donovan, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Clark Cowen, appeals his conviction and sentence for disorderly conduct.

{¶ 2} The incident that forms the basis for Cowen’s conviction and sentence occurred on June 9, 2005, when Cowen, who was allegedly intoxicated at the time, threatened to shoot his brother Curtis after an argument over pain medication. Montgomery County sheriffs deputies were dispatched to Cowen’s residence, and he was arrested for domestic violence.

{¶ 3} On June 10, 2005, a complaint was filed against Cowen charging him with domestic violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(C), a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. On July 20, 2005, Cowen pled no contest to a reduced charge of *235 disorderly conduct in violation of R.C. 2917.11, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

{¶ 4} The trial court sentenced Cowen to 30 days in jail. The court gave him jail-time credit for three days already served and suspended the remaining 27 days of his sentence. Additionally, the trial court fined Cowen $200, but suspended $100 of the fine and placed him on five years of probation. Lastly, Cowen was ordered to serve three months on electronic home detention. Execution of Cowen’s sentence was stayed pending the outcome of the instant appeal.

{¶ 5} Cowen filed a timely notice of appeal on October 11, 2005.

I

{¶ 6} Cowen’s first assignment of error is as follows:

{¶ 7} “The trial court erred by failing to give appellant the opportunity to address the trial court personally before sentence was imposed, as required by Criminal Rule 32.”

{¶ 8} In his first assignment, Cowen contends that pursuant to Crim.R. 32, the trial court erred when it failed to provide Cowen or defense counsel with the opportunity to personally address the court during sentencing.

{¶ 9} Crim.R. 32(A)(1) states:

{¶ 10} “At the time of imposing sentence, the court shall do all of the following:

{¶ 11} “(1) Afford counsel an opportunity to speak on behalf of the defendant and address the defendant personally and ask if he or she wishes to make a statement in his or her own behalf or present any information in mitigation of punishment.”

{¶ 12} We recently stated in State v. Sexton, Greene App. No. 04CA14, 2005-Ohio-449, 2005 WL 281164, ¶ 31 that “[w]hile the defendant may waive the right of allocution, Crim. R. 32(A)(1) imposes an affirmative duty on the court to speak directly to the defendant on the record and inquire whether he or she wishes to exercise that right or waive it.” See State v. Campbell (2000), 90 Ohio St.3d 320, 326, 738 N.E.2d 1178.

{¶ 13} The state cites our decision in State v. McBride (Jan. 26, 2001), Montgomery App. No. 18016, 2001 WL 62543, in which we found that the trial court’s error in failing to address the defendant during sentencing was harmless because the defendant did not come forward with specific information about what he would have said in order to mitigate the offense in relation to the punishment the trial court could impose. Thus, the defendant in McBride failed to demonstrate how he was prejudiced by the trial court’s error, and we could not determine whether the error affected his substantial rights.

*236 {¶ 14} In State v. Myers (Feb. 12, 1999), Greene App. No. 96 CA 38, 1999 WL 94917, the case we relied upon for our holding in McBride, supra, we found that the trial court’s failure to afford the defendant his right to allocution was harmless error only because the defendant previously made a statement under oath and was given the opportunity to present evidence in mitigation of his sentence and the trial court did not rely on any additional information, such as victim-impact statements, prior to imposing sentence. The record in the instant case, however, fails to demonstrate that Cowen was ever given the opportunity to present any evidence in mitigation of his sentence, either prior to or during the sentencing hearing. Moreover, there is no indication in the record that the trial court relied on anything other than Cowen’s presentence investigation report when it imposed sentence on him.

{¶ 15} A review of the transcript of the sentencing hearing held on October 5, 2005, reveals that the trial court did address defense counsel regarding jail-time credit and Cowen’s presentence report. However, at no point during the hearing did the trial court make the inquiries required by Crim.R. 32(A)(1). The court did not ask whether defense counsel had anything to say on behalf of Cowen, nor did the court ask Cowen if he wished to personally address the court with respect to the sentence about to be imposed on him.

{¶ 16} “Crim.R. 32(A)(1) clearly specifies that the court must extend an opportunity to the attorney and the defendant to make a statement.” Sexton, 2005-Ohio-449, ¶ 33. The onus is, therefore, on the trial court to inquire of the defendant or his counsel as to whether they have anything to say which may affect the outcome of the sentencing. “[T]he interest that is protected by the right to allocution is the opportunity for the defendant to address the court directly on his own behalf after all the information on which the sentencing court relies when pronouncing sentence has been presented.” (Emphasis sic.) State v. Brown, 166 Ohio App.3d 252, 2006-Ohio-1796, 850 N.E.2d 116, ¶ 13. Here, the trial court’s failure to provide Cowen or his counsel with the opportunity to address the court is reversible error. Thus, we are required to reverse the sentence imposed and remand the case to the trial court for resentencing.

{¶ 17} We note that our holdings in McBride (Jan. 26, 2001), Montgomery App. No. 18016, and Sexton, 2005-Ohio-449, are inconsistent. We shall follow the mandate set forth in Sexton, which requires that we reverse and remand for resentencing when the trial court fails to afford a defendant the opportunity to speak on his own behalf at his or her sentencing hearing.

{¶ 18} Cowen’s first assignment of error is sustained.

II

{¶ 19} Cowen’s second and final assignment of error is as follows:

*237 {¶ 20} “The trial court erred in sentencing appellant to three months on electronic home detention when the maximum allowable jail term was 30 days.”

{¶ 21} In his final assignment of error, Cowen argues that the trial court erred when it sentenced him to three months of electronic home detention (“EHDP”) when the maximum amount of time he would have spent in jail was 30 days. Thus, Cowen contends that if the trial court wanted to sentence him to EHDP, the maximum time it could order him to be under house arrest would be 30 days. Essentially, Cowen argues that EHDP is the equivalent of being incarcerated. We disagree.

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Bluebook (online)
854 N.E.2d 579, 167 Ohio App. 3d 233, 2006 Ohio 3191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cowen-ohioctapp-2006.