Opinion
Appellate Case No. 28660
11-13-2020
STATE OF OHIO Plaintiff-Appellee v. DEVON J. COHEN Defendant-Appellant
STEPHANIE L. COOK, Atty. Reg. No. 0067101 and ANDREW D. SEXTON, Atty. Reg. No. 0070892, Dayton City Prosecutor's Office, 335 West Third Street, Room 372, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellee CHRISTOPHER C. GREEN, Atty. Reg. No. 0077072, 130 West Second Street, Suite 830, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant
Trial Court Case No. 2019-CRB-5764 (Criminal Appeal from Municipal Court)
OPINION
STEPHANIE L. COOK, Atty. Reg. No. 0067101 and ANDREW D. SEXTON, Atty. Reg. No. 0070892, Dayton City Prosecutor's Office, 335 West Third Street, Room 372, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellee CHRISTOPHER C. GREEN, Atty. Reg. No. 0077072, 130 West Second Street, Suite 830, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant TUCKER, P.J.
{¶ 1} Appellant Devon J. Cohen appeals from a misdemeanor assault conviction. For the reasons that follow, the appeal will be dismissed as moot.
Facts and Procedural History
{¶ 2} A criminal complaint was filed against Cohen charging that he assaulted Randall Sizemore in violation of R.C. 2903.13(A). On the day of the scheduled bench trial, Cohen orally requested a jury trial. The trial court denied this request, and the bench trial proceeded as scheduled. The trial court found Cohen guilty of the charged assault.
{¶ 3} The trial court sentenced Cohen to a 180-day jail term with 41 days suspended, and he was given credit for 14 days already served. The trial court did not impose a fine or court costs. This appeal followed. Cohen has served the remaining 126-day jail sentence; he did not request a stay of the jail sentence.
Analysis
{¶ 4} "The role of courts is to decide adversarial legal cases and to issue judgments that can be carried into effect." Cyran v. Cyran, 152 Ohio St.3d 484, 2018-Ohio-24, 97 N.E.3d 487, ¶ 9, citing Fortner v. Thomas, 22 Ohio St.2d 13, 14, 257 N.E.2d 371 (1970). "Under the mootness doctrine, American courts will not decide cases in which there is no longer an actual legal controversy between the parties." Id., citing In re A.G., 139 Ohio St.3d 572, 2014-Ohio-2597, 13 N.E.3d 1146, ¶ 37. "Thus, when parties 'lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome,' a case becomes moot." Id., quoting Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 496, 89 S.Ct. 1944, 23 L.Ed.2d 491 (1969).
{¶ 5} When a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor offense voluntarily satisfies the imposed judgment, an appeal of the conviction is moot unless the judgment was served involuntarily or the "defendant * * * offer[s] evidence from which an inference can be drawn that * * * he will suffer some collateral legal disability or loss of civil rights stemming from [the] conviction." State v. Golston, 71 Ohio St.3d 224, 226, 643 N.E.2d 109 (1994). See also City of Dayton v. Elifritz, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 19604, 2004-Ohio-455, ¶ 4. A sentence is not served voluntarily if a stay is requested but denied. City of Cleveland Hts. v. Lewis, 129 Ohio St.3d 389, 2011-Ohio-2673, 953 N.E.2d 278, ¶ 23.
{¶ 6} "[A] collateral legal disability implies a separate and distinct consequence from the original criminal prosecution, that is, there must be some other effect, adverse to the defendant beyond expected punishment for his current offense." State v. McCarty, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 20581, 2005-Ohio-4031, ¶ 4, citing City of North Royalton v. Baker, 65 Ohio App.3d 644, 584 N.E.2d 1308 (8th Dist.1989). A collateral disability exists when an offender "may be subject to further penalties or disabilities under state or federal law even after a judgment has been satisfied." In re S.J.K., 114 Ohio St.3d 23, 2007-Ohio-2621, 867 N.E.2d 408, ¶ 10. A collateral disability "need not have an immediate impact or impairment but may be something that occurs in the future." Id. at ¶ 14.
{¶ 7} As noted, Cohen did not request a stay of the now-completed jail sentence; thus, he served the sentence voluntarily. Moreover, Cohen does not suggest, and we cannot discern, any collateral disability resulting from the assault conviction. Since Cohen voluntarily satisfied the trial court's judgment and the judgment has not triggered a collateral disability, the appeal is moot and must be dismissed.
Conclusion
{¶ 8} For the stated reasons, Cohen's appeal is dismissed as moot. DONOVAN, J. and WELBAUM, J., concur. Copies sent to: Stephanie L. Cook
Andrew D. Sexton
Christopher C. Green
Hon. Christopher D. Roberts