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4th District says murderer must pay court costs

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News

Published: May 6, 2015

The 4th District Court of Appeals recently dismissed a convicted murderer’s appeal, ruling that any arguments concerning his court costs should have been raised in a direct appeal.

Claude Lee Spencer appealed a Scioto County Court of Common Pleas entry denying his motion for resentencing based on alleged errors in the imposition of court costs.

The three-judge appellate panel found that he did not challenge his court costs until 22 years after his sentencing, rendering it untimely.

The facts of the case state that Spencer pleaded guilty to murder in 1993 and the common pleas court sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison.

It also imposed court costs as part of his sentence.

Spencer did not appeal his sentence, but in late 2014 he filed a motion seeking new sentencing.

He asserted that his original sentence was void because the trial court failed to properly determine if he had the ability to pay court costs prior to imposing them.

He also argued that the trial court did not inform him that failing to pay his court costs would result in the imposition of community service.

The trial court denied that motion, finding that any sentencing errors could have been raised on direct appeal. Spencer appealed that decision to the 4th District.

In response, the state asserted that the trial court’s entry was not a final appealable order because Spencer’s arguments could have been raised on direct appeal. The appellate judges agreed.

“The trial court’s entry denying Spencer’s motion for re-sentencing is not a final appealable order. Appellate courts in Ohio have jurisdiction to review the final orders or judgments of inferior courts within their district,” Presiding Judge Marie Hoover wrote in her opinion for the 4th District.

“If a judgment is not final and appealable, then an appellate court has no jurisdiction to review the matter and must dismiss the appeal.”

Spencer argued in contrast that the trial court failed to comply with Ohio sentencing laws when it imposed court costs.

He claimed such an error rendered a portion of his sentence void and his motion could not, therefore, be time-barred.

The judges found that argument without merit.

They held that the current sentencing law states that a trial court must only notify an offender of the possibility of community control if it is imposed as part of a sentence. The law, however, excludes such a requirement for offenders sentenced to prison.

“Because any errors in the trial court’s imposition of court costs do not cause any portion of Spencer’s judgment of conviction to be void, any alleged errors had to be raised on direct appeal. Spencer’s attempt to attack them collaterally some 22 years later is barred by res judicata,” the court ruled.

Based on that finding, the judges ruled that the trial court’s entry was not a final appealable order and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.

Judges William Harsha and Peter Abele concurred.

The case is cited State v. Spencer, 2015-Ohio-1445.

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