Ohio Criminal Appeals Lawyer Blog

"Judicial Release" is Ohio's form of early release from prison. Let's say a trial judge sentences you to 2 or 5 or 10 (or more) years in prison. You can come back to the trial court - when you become an "eligible offender" - and ask to be let out of prison early and placed on community control. This is all covered in R.C. 2929.20.

How do you do it? You have to file a motion for judicial release (or the trial court can do it on its own motion). Although it was last revised before the effective date of House Bill 86, the Ohio Public Defender's pro se packet can give you some guidance (but remember this is based on the law before H.B. 86! -- who is an "eligible offender" has changed). Here is a link to the OPD's self-help packet.

You have to be realistic about your chances of getting judicial release. Look at the crime(s) you were convicted of. Consider that you are asking the trial judge who may have nailed you on sentencing day to now let you out early. Why is the trial judge going to change his/her mind now? Maybe they will, but just be realistic about your chances.

There is no "right" to judicial release. It is totally up to the trial court. Totally. And maybe you would get it if you had Judge A, but you are stuck with Judge B, or vice versa. And you cannot appeal if you are denied. So it is REALLY up to the trial court.

When do you become an "eligible offender"? That depends on what kind of sentence you are serving. If an inmate was sentenced to all non-mandatory time in prison, they may have to serve 10 or 55 or 83 percent of their prison term before they can ask for judicial release - depending on the length of your prison term. If you served mandatory time, you may have to wait longer. One unfortunate thing about judicial release is that the clock on when you become an eligible offender does not start to run until you are "delivered to a state correctional institution." But what about all your jail time credit you earned in the county jail?

How many times can you ask for judicial release? There is no limit indicated in R.C. 2929.20, but the trial court can shut you down for good. If the trial court denies your motion for judicial release without conducting a hearing and it denies your motion "with prejudice," you cannot again ask for judicial release. If the court grants you a hearing on your motion and then denies your motion, you cannot again ask for judicial release. So you have to be wise about when to ask. Check out R.C. 2929.20(D).

Getting out early sounds good, but you still have to go through a sentencing judge to get there. Good luck.

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.

Contact me 24/7 by sending an email to ohiocriminalappealslawyer@gmail.com

House Bill 86 offers new hope to many Ohio inmates who were previously ineligible for judicial release. Judicial release is a way that an "offender" (prison inmate) can have his nonmandatory sentence reduced by the trial judge. House Bill 86 provides new guidelines as to when you can request judicial release. It used to be that you could not request judicial release if your "stated prison term" was greater than 10 years.

But now you can file a motion for judicial release if your aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is more than 10 years. If none of your prison term included mandatory time, you can file for judicial release if you have served one-half of your prison term. Or if part of your prison term included mandatory time, you must complete the mandatory time and then wait at least five years before filing for judicial release, even if you have passed the ½ mark in your prison term.

If your aggregated nonmandatory time is MORE THAN 5 years but NOT MORE THAN 10 years, you have to serve at least 5 years at the prison OR if part of your prison term was mandatory, you have to wait until 5 years after the mandatory portion of your sentence is served.

If your aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is 5 YEARS, you have to serve at least 4 years at the prison BUT if part of your prison term was mandatory, you have to wait at least 4 years after the mandatory time is served.

If your aggregated nonmandatory prison term is AT LEAST 2 years but LESS THAN 5 years, you have to wait at least 180 days after you are delivered to the prison OR if part of your prison time was mandatory, you have to wait at least 180 days after the mandatory time is served.

If your nonmandatory prison term is LESS THAN 2 years, you can file 30 days after you are delivered to the prison OR 30 days after your mandatory time is served if you had to serve mandatory time.

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.

Contact me 24/7 by sending an email to ohiocriminalappealslawyer@gmail.com

*Some inmates are excluded from judicial release eligibility. Offenders who held public office when they committed certain offenses are not eligible.

House Bill 86 expands what it means to be an "eligible offender" for the purposes of judicial release. Previous to when H.B. 86 will take effect, an "eligible offender" was one that was serving a "stated prison term" of ten years or less. Anyone that was sentenced to an aggregate prison term of more than ten years was just not eligible for judicial release.

House Bill 86 changes that and makes most inmates eligible for judicial release. You are not eligible for judicial release if all of your prison time is mandatory time or if you held public office when you committed certain felony offenses. But for other inmates, judicial release is possible.

Amendments to Section 2929.20 indicate when an inmate may file a motion for judicial release. There are guidelines for those serving less than two years of non-mandatory time, two years to less than five years of non-mandatory time, five years of non-mandatory time, more than five years but not more than ten years of non-mandatory time, and even for those whose non-mandatory time is more than ten years. You may want to consult a lawyer before making a motion for judicial release.

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.

When your motion for judicial release is denied by the trial court, can you appeal that decision to the Court of Appeals? The answer is "no" according to the decision you can read here. Ohio Courts of Appeal get their powers from the Ohio Constitution. Article IV, Section 3(B)(2) states that appellate courts can review, affirm, modify, or reverse "judgments or final orders" from courts of record inferior to the court of appeals. The problem for the incarcerated person is that a denial of a motion for judicial release is not a final appealable order. There is no "right" to judicial release. If you appeal the denial of the motion for judicial release to the Court of Appeals, the appeal would likely be dismissed as it was here.

A prosecuting attorney (or similar character), on the other hand, may appeal "as a matter of right" a modification of a sentence under section 2929.20 if the sentence being modified was one for an F1 or F2 (but NOT if the sentence was for an F3, F4, or F5). See R.C. 2953.08(B)(3) and State v. Cunningham, 113 Ohio St.3d 108.

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.

Contact me 24/7 by sending an email to ohiocriminalappealslawyer@gmail.com