Opinion
No. 09 CA 12.
DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: September 28, 2010.
Criminal Appeal from Knox County Court of Common Pleas Case No. 08CR04-0053.
Affirmed.
John C. Thatcher, Knox County Prosecutor, By: Charles T. McConville, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Noel B. Alden, Zelkowitz, Barry Cullers, Ltd., for Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Julie A. Edwards, P.J. Sheila G. Farmer, J. John W. Wise, J.
OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellant, Shawn G. Williams, appeals a judgment of the Knox County Common Pleas Court convicting him of two counts of gross sexual imposition (R.C. 2907.05(A)(4)). Appellee is the State of Ohio.
STATEMENT OF FACTS AND CASE
{¶ 2} On April 8, 2008, appellant was indicted by the Knox County Grand Jury with two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition. He pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual imposition and the rape charges were dismissed by the state. Appellant was sentenced to four years incarceration on each count, to be served consecutively.
{¶ 3} Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal and the trial court appointed the Knox County Public Defender to represent appellant. Appointed counsel filed an Anders brief and a motion to withdraw, which was granted by this Court on March 22, 2010. Present counsel was then appointed and assigns a single error:
{¶ 4} "THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT IMPOSED CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES WITHOUT MAKING OF (SIC) THE FINDINGS REQUIRED BY R.C. 2929.14(E)(4)."
{¶ 5} Appellant recognizes that in State v. Foster, 109 Ohio St.3d 1, 845 N.E.2d 470, 2006-Ohio-856, the Ohio Supreme Court found R.C. 2929.14(E)(4) unconstitutional and severed it from the statute. Appellant argues that the United States Supreme Court has overruled the Foster decision in Oregon v. Ice (2009), 129 S.Ct. 711, 172 L.Ed.2d 517.
{¶ 6} This Court has previously rejected this argument on several occasions, finding that we do not have the authority to overturn Foster. E.g. State v. Argyle, Delaware App. No. 09CAA090076, 2010-Ohio-273; State v. Arnold, Muskingum App. No. CT2009-0021, 2010-Ohio-3125. For the reasons stated in Argyle, supra, and Arnold, supra, the assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 7} The judgment of the Knox County Common Pleas Court is affirmed.
Edwards, P.J. Farmer, J. and Wise, J. concur.
JUDGMENT ENTRY
For the reasons stated in our accompanying Memorandum-Opinion on file, the judgment of the Knox County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed. Costs assessed to appellant.