State v. Jarvis

2023 Ohio 4229
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 22, 2023
Docket30610
StatusPublished

This text of 2023 Ohio 4229 (State v. Jarvis) 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. Jarvis, 2023 Ohio 4229 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Jarvis, 2023-Ohio-4229.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 30610

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE JORDAN JARVIS COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellant CASE No. CR-2021-07-2307

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: November 22, 2023

FLAGG LANZINGER, Judge.

{¶1} Jordan Jarvis appeals from the judgment of the Summit County Court of Common

Pleas. For the following reasons, this Court affirms in part, reverses in part, and remands the

matter for further proceedings.

I.

{¶2} A grand jury indicted Mr. Jarvis on one count of aggravated possession of drugs, a

second-degree felony, and one count of possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony. Mr. Jarvis

initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty. The trial court accepted Mr. Jarvis’s

plea and sentenced him to an indefinite prison sentence under the Reagan Tokes Law. Mr. Jarvis

now appeals, raising five assignments of error for this Court’s review.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT LOST JURISDICTION, BECAUSE JORDAN’S SPEEDY TRIAL RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED[.] 2

{¶3} In his first assignment of error, Mr. Jarvis argues that the trial court lost jurisdiction

over the matter because it violated his statutory right to a speedy trial. For the following reasons,

this Court disagrees.

{¶4} At some point after Mr. Jarvis was indicted on the underlying charges, he became

incarcerated in Wayne County based upon other charges. The docket reflects that Mr. Jarvis

submitted a “Request for Disposition” under R.C. 2941.401 to the warden on March 21, 2022,

which was docketed in the underlying case on April 11, 2022. R.C. 2941.401 states, in pertinent

part:

When a person has entered upon a term of imprisonment in a correctional institution of this state, and when during the continuance of the term of imprisonment there is pending in this state any untried indictment, information, or complaint against the prisoner, he shall be brought to trial within one hundred eighty days after he causes to be delivered to the prosecuting attorney and the appropriate court in which the matter is pending, written notice of the place of his imprisonment and a request for a final disposition to be made of the matter, except that for good cause shown in open court, with the prisoner or his counsel present, the court may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. The request of the prisoner shall be accompanied by a certificate of the warden or superintendent having custody of the prisoner, stating the term of commitment under which the prisoner is being held, the time served and remaining to be served on the sentence, the amount of good time earned, the time of parole eligibility of the prisoner, and any decisions of the adult parole authority relating to the prisoner.

The written notice and request for final disposition shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the warden or superintendent having custody of him, who shall promptly forward it with the certificate to the appropriate prosecuting attorney and court by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.

The warden or superintendent having custody of the prisoner shall promptly inform him in writing of the source and contents of any untried indictment, information, or complaint against him, concerning which the warden or superintendent has knowledge, and of his right to make a request for final disposition thereof.

***

If the action is not brought to trial within the time provided, subject to continuance allowed pursuant to this section, no court any longer has jurisdiction thereof, the 3

indictment, information, or complaint is void, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the action with prejudice.

(Emphasis added.)

{¶5} As the Ohio Supreme Court has explained, “[i]n its plainest language, R.C.

2941.401 grants an incarcerated defendant a chance to have all pending charges resolved in a

timely manner, thereby preventing the state from delaying prosecution until after the defendant

has been released from his prison term.” State v. Hairston, 101 Ohio St.3d 308, 2004-Ohio-969,

¶ 25. To comply with R.C. 2941.401, “the inmate must properly complete and forward all

necessary information and documents to the warden for processing as prescribed by the statute.”

State v. Gill, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 82742, 2004-Ohio-1245, ¶ 17. The warden’s duty under R.C.

2941.401 is triggered once the warden receives the inmate’s written notice and request. State v.

Williams, Slip Opinion No. 2023-Ohio-3647, ¶ 17 (“What the prisoner can do is provide the written

notice and request to the warden having custody of him. That compliance with R.C. 2941.401

triggers a statutory duty of the warden.”).

{¶6} The Ohio Supreme Court recently clarified that “[a] prisoner satisfies the ‘causes

to be delivered’ requirement in R.C. 2941.401 by providing written notice of the place of his

imprisonment and a request for final disposition to the warden of the institution where he is

incarcerated.” Williams at ¶ 18. “[W]hen a warden fails to act, whether intentionally,

inadvertently, or otherwise, the consequences of that failure should inure to the state on whose

behalf the warden acts.” Id. at ¶ 17. On the other hand, “[w]here the inmate forwards incomplete,

inaccurate, misleading or erroneous information, any subsequent errors by the warden or

superintendent will be imputed to the inmate.” State v. Colon, 5th Dist. Stark No. 09-CA-232,

2010-Ohio-2326, ¶ 23, quoting Gill at ¶ 17. If a speedy-trial violation under R.C. 2941.401 occurs,

then a trial court has no further jurisdiction over the matter. State v. Dillon, 114 Ohio St.3d 154, 4

2007-Ohio-3617, ¶ 23 (“Because of the R.C. 2941.401 speedy-trial violation, the trial court had

no further jurisdiction over this matter.”).

{¶7} Here, Mr. Jarvis addressed the “Request for Disposition” under R.C. 2941.401 as

follows:

SUMMIT COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS PROSECUTING ATTORNEY 209 SOUTH HIGH STREET AKRON, OHIO 44308

{¶8} Mr. Jarvis signed and dated the bottom of his “Request for Disposition[.]” As

noted, the Summit County Court of Common Pleas docket indicates that the “Request for

Disposition” was docketed on April 11, 2022. The record, therefore, indicates that the warden sent

Mr. Jarvis’s “Request for Disposition” as addressed, that is, to the Summit County Court of

Common Pleas. While Mr. Jarvis listed “PROSECUTING ATTORNEY” as part of the address

to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, there is no indication that he also addressed the

“Request for Disposition” to the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, which is at a different

location. There is also no indication in the record that the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office

received Mr. Jarvis’s “Request for Disposition[.]” Compare State v. Moore, 3d Dist. Union No.

14-14-06, 2014-Ohio-4879, ¶ 31 (collecting cases and acknowledging that a prosecutor’s actual

receipt of a written request under R.C. 2941.401 cures any error that occurred during the delivery

process). Mr. Jarvis’s failure to address the “Request for Disposition” to the appropriate

prosecuting attorney is imputed to him, not the warden. Colon, 2010-Ohio-2326, at ¶ 23, quoting

Gill, 2004-Ohio-1245, at ¶ 17 (“Where the inmate forwards incomplete, inaccurate, misleading or

erroneous information, any subsequent errors by the warden or superintendent will be imputed to

the inmate.”).

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Bluebook (online)
2023 Ohio 4229, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jarvis-ohioctapp-2023.