State v. Johnson

Citations

• 2017 Ohio 1148

Syllabus

SENTENCING: While there is no constitutional right to appellate review of a criminal sentence, R.C. 2953.08 confers statutory rights upon a defendant to appeal from some felony sentences including those that are contrary to law under R.C. 2953.08(A) but R.C. 2953.08(D)(3) bars such an appeal when the sentence to be reviewed was imposed for the crime of aggravated murder. Since R.C. 2953.08 specifically and comprehensively defines the parameters of felony-sentencing appellate review, a sentence imposed for aggravated murder is not subject to review by an appellate court pursuant to R.C. 2953.08(D)(3). While an appellate court may not review the actual sentence imposed for aggravated murder, nothing in R.C. 2953.08(D) precludes review of whether the trial court complied with the requirements of R.C. 2929.14(C)(4) when ordering that sentence to be served consecutively. The determination of whether a trial court properly imposed nonmandatory consecutive sentences is governed by the same statute, R.C. 2929.14(C)(4), both for general felonies and for aggravated murder if a trial court exercises its discretion to impose consecutive sentences, it must make the consecutive-sentences findings set out in R.C. 2929.14(C)(4), and those findings must be made at the sentencing hearing and incorporated into the sentencing entry.