Cleveland Hts. v. Preston

Citations

• 2026 Ohio 344

Syllabus

Pro se; civil contempt; moot; App.R. 12; App.R. 16; Traf.R. 11(A); not guilty plea; Double Jeopardy Clause; allied offenses; R.C. 2941.25(A); plain error; constitutionality of a statute; new arguments on appeal; waiver. Appellant appealed various aspects of the trial court's proceedings concerning three traffic citations she was found guilty of, raising five assignments of error. Her first assignment of error raised issues with the trial court's finding of contempt for her behavior during her arraignment; however, the issues related to the contempt are moot once she complied with the court's order which was purged. Her second assignment of error alleged the trial court violated her due-process rights by accepting her not guilty plea because it was not knowingly, intelligently or voluntarily made and that the trial court violated Traf.R. 11(A). Appellant pled not guilty at her arraignment and the case went to trial where the court found her guilty of all charges. As such the trial court did not accept a guilty or no contest plea from her and these requirements do not apply. Similarly, the trial court did not violate Traf.R. 11(A) since appellant was given an opportunity to present a motion to dismiss prior to trial and she did in fact make such a motion, which the trial court denied. Appellant's third assignment of error alleged the trial court violated the Double Jeopardy Clause, committing plain error, by entering two convictions under the same ordinance for the same expired plates and that these offenses should have been merged as allied offenses. Both of these arguments fail because appellant's two convictions for driving with expired plates occurred on two separate days and therefore constitute separate offenses such that she was not being punished for the same offense twice nor were they allied offenses of a similar import. Appellant's fourth assignment of error alleged the local ordinance at issue was unconstitutional, but she failed to raise this issue in the