State v. Tolbert

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 2557

Syllabus

PLAIN ERROR – COUNSEL – EVIDENCE – SENTENCING: The trial court did not commit plain error in admitting into evidence jail phone calls where the record reflects that defense counsel agreed to their admission. The trial court did not commit plain error by admitting into evidence arguably hearsay statements where the case was tried to the court and the record does not support the conclusion that the court relied on the statements. Defendant was not prejudiced by his counsel's failure to object to the testimony of a police officer, which summarized the content of recorded jail telephone conversations, where the trial court actually listened to the recordings and read the transcripts of the phone calls. The trial court had no authority to enter a no-contact-with-the-victims order as part of defendant's sentence where defendant was sentenced to prison: a no-contact order is a condition of community control and may not be imposed where defendant was sentenced to prison. The trial court's sentencing entry does not reflect the merger of count two into count one as the court pronounced at the sentencing hearing, and therefore, the cause must be remanded for the trial court to correct the judgment entry to reflect that merger.