State v. Reed

950 N.E.2d 203, 192 Ohio App. 3d 657
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 27, 2011
DocketNo. 94197
StatusPublished

This text of 950 N.E.2d 203 (State v. Reed) 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. Reed, 950 N.E.2d 203, 192 Ohio App. 3d 657 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Colleen Conway Cooney, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Jalal Reed, appeals his sentence for felonious assault and child endangering. Finding no merit to the appeal, we affirm.

2} In May 2009, Reed was charged with two counts of felonious assault and one count of child endangering in connection with injuries sustained by his four-month-old son (“J.R.”). The infant suffered two subdural hemorrhages, plus dozens of fractures, lacerations, and bruises. Medical testing determined that these injuries did not occur all at once, but rather over a period of weeks. Reed and the infant’s birth mother initially claimed that a babysitter had abused the child, but no such babysitter was found to exist.

{¶ 3} Reed pleaded guilty to all three counts and was sentenced to seven years on each count of felonious assault and three years on the count of child endangering. All terms were ordered to be served consecutively, for a total of 17 years.

{¶ 4} Reed now appeals his sentence, raising two assignments of error.

Consecutive Sentences

{¶ 5} In his first assignment of error, Reed argues that his consecutive sentences are contrary to law and an abuse of discretion.

{¶ 6} We review felony sentences using the Kalish framework. State v. Kalish, 120 Ohio St.3d 23, 2008-Ohio-4912, 896 N.E.2d 124. Kalish, in a split decision, declared that in applying State v. Foster, 109 Ohio St.3d 1, 2006-Ohio-856, 845 N.E.2d 470, to the existing statutes, appellate courts “must apply a two-step approach.” Kalish at ¶ 4.1

[659]*659{¶ 7} Appellate courts must first “examine the sentencing court’s compliance with all applicable rules and statutes in imposing the sentence to determine whether the sentence is clearly and convincingly contrary to law.” Id. at ¶ 4. If this first prong is satisfied, then we review the trial court’s decision under an abuse-of-discretion standard. Id. at ¶ 4 and 19.

{¶ 8} In the first step of our analysis, we review whether the sentence is contrary to law, as required by R.C. 2953.08(G).

{¶ 9} As Kalish noted, after Foster, “trial courts have full discretion to impose a prison sentence within the statutory range and are no longer required to make findings or give their reasons for imposing maximum, consecutive, or more than the minimum sentences.” Id. at ¶ 11; Foster, paragraph seven of the syllabus; State v. Mathis, 109 Ohio St.3d 54, 2006-Ohio-855, 846 N.E.2d 1, paragraph three of the syllabus. See also State v. Redding, Cuyahoga App. No. 90864, 2008-Ohio-5739, 2008 WL 4812477; State v. Ali, Cuyahoga App. No. 90301, 2008-Ohio-4449, 2008 WL 4078441; State v. McCarroll, Cuyahoga App. No. 89280, 2007-Ohio-6322, 2007 WL 4200759; State v. Sharp, Cuyahoga App. No. 89295, 2007-Ohio-6324, 2007 WL 4200755. Kalish declared that although Foster eliminated mandatory judicial fact-finding, it left R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12 intact. Kalish at ¶ 13. As a result, the trial court must still consider these statutes when imposing a sentence. Id., citing Mathis at ¶ 38.

{¶ 10} R.C. 2929.11(A) provides:

{¶ 11} “A court that sentences an offender for a felony shall be guided by the overriding purposes of felony sentencing. The overriding purposes of felony sentencing are to protect the public from future crime by the offender and others and to punish the offender. To achieve those purposes, the sentencing court shall consider the need for incapacitating the offender, deterring the offender and others from future crime, rehabilitating the offender, and making restitution to the victim of the offense, the public, or both.”

{¶ 12} R.C. 2929.12 provides a nonexhaustive list of factors that a trial court must consider when determining the seriousness of the offense and the likelihood that the offender will commit future offenses.

{¶ 13} Kalish also noted that R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12 are not fact-finding statutes like R.C. 2929.14.2 Kalish, 120 Ohio St.3d 23, 2008-Ohio-4912, 896 [660]*660N.E.2d 124, at ¶ 17. Rather, they “serve as an overarching guide for trial judges to consider in fashioning an appropriate sentence.” Id. Thus, “[i]n considering these statutes in light of Foster, the trial court has full discretion to determine whether the sentence satisfies the overriding purposes of Ohio’s sentencing structure.” Id.

{¶ 14} In the instant case, we do not find Reed’s sentence to be contrary to law. Reed’s sentence is within the permissible statutory range for felonious assault set forth in R.C. 2903.11(A)(1), as a second-degree felony. In the sentencing journal entry, the trial court acknowledged that it had considered all factors of law and found that prison was consistent with the purposes of R.C. 2929.11. On these facts, we cannot conclude that his sentence is contrary to law.

{¶ 15} Having satisfied the first step, we next consider whether the trial court abused its discretion. Kalish at ¶ 4, 19. “An abuse of discretion is ‘ “more than an error of law or judgment; it implies that the court’s attitude is unreasonable, arbitrary or unconscionable.” ’ ” Id. at ¶ 19, quoting Blakemore v. Blakemore (1983), 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219, 5 OBR 481, 450 N.E.2d 1140, quoting State v. Adams (1980), 62 Ohio St.2d 151, 157, 16 O.O.3d 169, 404 N.E.2d 144.

{¶ 16} The trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a 17-year prison sentence. The trial court allowed Reed and his counsel to advocate a lighter sentence. Reed informed the trial court that he had a nonviolent criminal history. He informed the trial court that he had no prior incidents or allegations of abuse involving his three older children. Reed explained that he was unfamiliar with caring for a four-month-old baby and had no idea that his “roughhousing” could be so harmful. The trial court responded to Reed’s story of roughhousing with unveiled disbelief. The court characterized Reed’s crimes as heinous.

{¶ 17} We find nothing in the record to suggest that the trial court’s decision was unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable. The first assignment of error is overruled.

Allied Offenses

{¶ 18} In his second assignment of error, Reed contends that felonious assault and child endangering are allied offenses of similar import and should have merged for purposes of sentencing. We disagree.

{¶ 19} R.C. 2941.25 prohibits the imposition of multiple punishments for the same criminal conduct. The statute provides:

[661]*661(A) Where the same conduct by defendant can be construed to constitute two or more allied offenses of similar import, the indictment or information may contain counts for all such offenses, but the defendant may be convicted of only one.

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Related

Oregon v. Ice
555 U.S. 160 (Supreme Court, 2009)
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2010 Ohio 6314 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Hodge
2010 Ohio 6320 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Sharp, Unpublished Decision (11-29-2007)
2007 Ohio 6324 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Redding, 90864 (11-6-2008)
2008 Ohio 5739 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. McCarroll, Unpublished Decision (11-29-2007)
2007 Ohio 6322 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Ali, 90301 (9-4-2008)
2008 Ohio 4449 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Adams
404 N.E.2d 144 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1980)
Blakemore v. Blakemore
450 N.E.2d 1140 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1983)
State v. Blankenship
526 N.E.2d 816 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1988)
State v. Lewis
710 N.E.2d 699 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1999)
State v. Foster
845 N.E.2d 470 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Mathis
846 N.E.2d 1 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Brown
895 N.E.2d 149 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2008)
State v. Kalish
896 N.E.2d 124 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
950 N.E.2d 203, 192 Ohio App. 3d 657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-reed-ohioctapp-2011.