State v. Van Tielen

2014 Ohio 4421
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 6, 2014
DocketCA2013-11-012
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2014 Ohio 4421 (State v. Van Tielen) 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. Van Tielen, 2014 Ohio 4421 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Van Tielen, 2014-Ohio-4421.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO

BROWN COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, :

Plaintiff-Appellee, : CASE NO. CA2013-11-012

: OPINION - vs - 10/6/2014 :

JOHN VAN TIELEN, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM BROWN COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. 2010-2037

Jessica A. Little, Brown County Prosecuting Attorney, Mary McMullen, 510 East State Street, Suite 2, Georgetown, Ohio 45121, for plaintiff-appellee

John Van Tielen, #A629095, Chillicothe Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 5500, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601, defendant-appellant, pro se

PIPER, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, John Van Tielen, appeals a decision of the Brown County

Court of Common Pleas, denying his motion for resentencing.

{¶ 2} Van Tielen has twice been before this court on appeal, arguing issues specific

to his convictions for pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor. Van Tielen was

arrested after a multi-state investigation was conducted regarding the sharing of child Brown CA2013-11-012

pornography over the internet. A search warrant was executed on Van Tielen's computer,

and officials located ten different photographs containing child pornography. Van Tielen was

indicted on ten counts of pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor. Van Tielen

plead guilty to four of the counts, and the remaining six counts were dismissed. The trial

court ordered a presentence investigation, and later held a sentencing hearing.

{¶ 3} The trial court sentenced Van Tielen to six years on each of the counts to which

he pled guilty. Each six-year sentence was mandatory because Van Tielen had previously

been convicted of rape and attempted rape. The trial court ordered the sentences to run

consecutive to one another, for a total aggregate sentence of 24 years. However, the trial

court's original sentencing entry failed to indicate that the six-year sentences were

mandatory. Three days after the sentencing hearing, the trial court issued a nunc pro tunc

entry in which it corrected its previous sentencing entry by notating that each of the four six-

year sentences were mandatory.

{¶ 4} Van Tielen filed a direct appeal through counsel, alleging that the trial court

erred by running his sentences consecutive to one another. This court affirmed the trial

court's decision. State v. Van Tielen, 12th Dist. Brown No. CA2010-06-011 (accelerated

calendar judgment entry), appeal not accepted, 129 Ohio St.3d 1410, 2011-Ohio-3244. Van

Tielen then moved with the trial court to withdraw his guilty pleas. The trial court denied the

motion, and Van Tielen appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty

pleas. This court again affirmed the trial court's decision. State v. Van Tielen, 12th Dist.

Brown No. CA2012-04-007, 2013-Ohio-446, appeal not accepted, 135 Ohio St.3d 1461,

2013-Ohio-2285.

{¶ 5} In 2013, Van Tielen filed another motion in the trial court, asking the court to

resentence him. Van Tielen argued that his sentence was void because the trial court

wrongly issued its nunc pro tunc entry indicating that each of the six-year sentences were -2- Brown CA2013-11-012

mandatory. The trial court denied Van Tielen's motion for resentencing. Van Tielen now

argues on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his motion for resentencing, raising the

following assignments of error.

{¶ 6} Assignment of Error No. 1:

{¶ 7} THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED IT'S [SIC] DISCRETION AND ERRED AS A

MATTER OF LAW, WHEREAS IT MISUSED A NUNC PRO TUNC ORDER TO CORRECT A

JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION THAT WAS UNLAWFUL.

{¶ 8} Van Tielen argues in his first assignment of error that the trial court improperly

denied his motion to vacate a void sentence because the trial court wrongly issued a nunc

pro tunc entry to correct the sentence imposed upon him.1

{¶ 9} According to Crim.R. 43(A)(1), "the defendant must be physically present at

every stage of the criminal proceeding and trial, including the impaneling of the jury, the

return of the verdict, and the imposition of sentence, except as otherwise provided by these

rules." Thus, if a defendant is sentenced, and then subsequently receives a new or different

sentence than that announced in open court, the defendant is entitled to be present for

resentencing. State v. Williams, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-11-1084, 2013-Ohio-726. However,

when a trial court issues a nunc pro tunc entry to correct an omission in its original

sentencing entry, the defendant is not required to appear before the trial court because no

resentencing has occurred and the nunc pro tunc entry merely serves as an accurate

reflection of what the court actually decided. State v. Ferrell, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 85821,

2005-Ohio-5992.

{¶ 10} It is well-settled that trial courts possess the authority to correct errors in

1. The state's brief is limited only to arguing that Van Tielen's assignments of error should be overruled because his arguments are barred by res judicata. Despite the state's assertion, res judicata does not bar Van Tielen from arguing that his sentence is void, as such an argument is jurisdictional in nature and may be raised at any time. State v. Waltz, 12th Dist. Clermont No. CA2013-10-077, 2014-Ohio-2474, ¶ 26. -3- Brown CA2013-11-012

judgment entries so that the record speaks the truth. State ex rel. Fogle v. Steiner, 74 Ohio

St.3d 158, 163-164 (1995); Crim.R. 36. Errors subject to correction by the court include a

clerical error, mistake, or omission that is mechanical in nature and apparent on the record

and do not involve a legal decision or judgment. State v. Miller, 127 Ohio St.3d 407, 2010-

Ohio-5705, ¶ 15. Nunc pro tunc entries are used to make the record reflect what the court

actually decided and not what the court might or should have decided or what the court

intended to decide. State v. Lester, 130 Ohio St.3d 303, 2011-Ohio-5204. Therefore, when

a sentencing court issues a nunc pro tunc entry to reflect what was actually done in court, the

sentence is not modified and the defendant does not have to be brought back into court for

resentencing. State v. Spears, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 94089, 2010-Ohio-2229.

{¶ 11} The record is clear that the trial court sentenced Van Tielen to four six-year

sentences, with each of the sentences being mandatory because Van Tielen had previously

been convicted of rape and attempted rape. Despite the original sentencing entry's omission

of the word "mandatory" for each sentence, Van Tielen was well-aware that his sentences

were mandatory, even before he pled guilty to the charges. Moreover, the events that

occurred at the sentencing hearing demonstrate that the trial court imposed four, six-year

mandatory sentences.

{¶ 12} On Van Tielen's change of plea form, the possible sentences for each of the

four counts of pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor are clearly stated, and

the word "yes" appears next to each possible sentence under the category of "MANDATORY

PRISON TERM." (Emphasis sic.) Beneath the charges and listing of possible sentences,

the form provides, "I understand the maximum penalty as set out above, and any mandatory

prison term during which I am NOT eligible for judicial release." (Emphasis sic.) Van Tielen

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Bluebook (online)
2014 Ohio 4421, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-van-tielen-ohioctapp-2014.