State v. Dye

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 5111

Syllabus

SEX OFFENSES – MEGAN'S LAW – CLASSIFICATION – RES JUDICATA: The trial court erred in granting the state's 2018 request to \correct\ defendant's 2001 habitual sexual offender classification and reclassify him as a sexual predator under former R.C. Chapter 2950, Ohio's version of Megan's Law, because the original order classifying defendant as a habitual sexual offender was a final appealable order from which neither party appealed, and therefore, the state was barred by res judicata from challenging it: the original habitual sexual offender classification was not void because (1) it was not a part of the sentence imposed for the offense, and therefore, it could not constitute a void sentence, and (2) the original trial court had subject matter jurisdiction under former R.C. 2950.09(E) to determine whether defendant was a habitual sexual offender, it simply erred in the exercise of that jurisdiction by classifying him incorrectly based on the counts in the indictment and not on prior convictions for sex offenses.