Ohio Criminal Appeals Lawyer Blog

The Ohio Supreme Court held today that a trial court errs when it imposes court costs on a defendant, pursuant to former R.C. 2947.23, in the sentencing entry where it failed to inform the defendant at the sentencing hearing that court costs would be imposed. The Court cites Criminal Rule 43(A) which requires that the defendant be present at sentencing and every other stage of his trial. And the Court found that the defendant was harmed because "he was denied the opportunity to claim indigency and to seek a waiver of the payment of court costs before the trial court." In cases such as this, the case is remanded to the trial court to give the defendant the opportunity to request a waiver of the court costs. Read the decision in State v. Joseph, 125 Ohio St.3d 76, 2010-Ohio-954, here.

If you are accused of a crime or have been convicted already, contact me if you can afford to hire a private criminal defense lawyer. Otherwise, contact your county or state public defender to see if they can help.

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Are you or is your client about to be sentenced for a first, second or third degree felony violation of a provision in Chapter 2925 (regarding drug offenses), Chapter 3719 (regarding controlled substances), or Chapter 4729 (regarding pharmacists/dangerous drugs)? Did you know the trial court is required to impose a fine pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 2929.18(B)(1)?

But a defendant can avoid the mandatory fine "[i]f an offender alleges in an affidavit filed with the court prior to sentencing that the offender is indigent and unable to pay the mandatory fine and if the court determines the offender is an indigent person and is unable to pay the mandatory fine." It is up to the court, but make sure you or your client file(s) the affidavit of indigency prior to sentencing.

Failing to file the affidavit of indigency prior to sentencing will often be fatal to an offender's attempt to avoid a mandatory fine because they are indigent.  Not so in the case of State v. Williams, 2009-Ohio-657, in Ohio's Fourth Appellate District.  Fortunately for Williams, the State conceded there was  a reasonable probability the trial court would have found him indigent had he filed such an affidavit.

You or your client may not be so lucky, so if the offender is indigent and about to be sentenced for a violation of one of these sections, be sure to file an affidavit of indigency prior to sentencing.