State v. Golston, No. 93-1632

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Ohio
• Writing for the Court: DOUGLAS; MOYER; FRANCIS E. SWEENEY, Sr.; RESNICK
• Citation: 643 N.E.2d 109,71 Ohio St.3d 224
• Decision Date: 20 December 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93-1632
• Parties: The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. GOLSTON, Appellant.

Page 224

71 Ohio St.3d 224 643 N.E.2d 109 The STATE of Ohio, Appellee,
v.
GOLSTON, Appellant. No. 93-1632. Supreme Court of Ohio. Submitted Nov. 2, 1994.
Decided Dec. 20, 1994. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT

A person convicted of a felony has a substantial stake in the judgment of conviction which survives the satisfaction of the judgment imposed upon him or her. Therefore, an appeal challenging a felony conviction is not moot even if the entire sentence has been satisfied before the matter is heard on

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appeal. (State v. Wilson [1975], 41 Ohio St.2d 236, 70 O.O.2d 431, 325 N.E.2d 236, and State v. Berndt [1987], 29 Ohio St.3d 3, 29 OBR 173, 504 N.E.2d 712, distinguished; State v. Williams [1992], 80 Ohio App.3d 542, 609 N.E.2d 1307, disapproved.)

On February 13, 1991, Otis Golston III, appellant, was indicted on two counts of motor vehicle grand theft in violation of R.C. 2913.02 (felonies of the third degree), and two counts of possession of criminal tools in violation of R.C. 2923.24 (felonies of the fourth degree). The events giving rise to the indictment involved "key switch" scams whereby appellant had allegedly posed as a customer at two car dealerships in Euclid, Ohio, test-drove a vehicle at each dealership, kept the keys to the vehicle, handed the salesperson a different set of keys, and later stole the vehicles from the dealerships by using the stolen keys.

In October 1991, appellant was tried before a jury. The jury found appellant guilty of all charges in the indictment. On October 29, 1991, the trial court sentenced appellant on the two counts of motor vehicle grand theft (counts one and three) and the two counts of possession of criminal tools (counts two and four). At the sentencing hearing, appellant requested that he be released on bond pending appeal. The trial court denied appellant's motion. The final judgment entry imposing sentence was filed on November 4, 1991.

On December 2, 1991, appellant appealed to the court of appeals, seeking reversal of his convictions and sentences. However, on June 14, 1993, the court of appeals dismissed appellant's appeal, stating, in part:

"A review of the record indicates that Golston was sentenced by the trial court to a term of one and one-half years each on counts one and three, and a term of one year each on counts two and four, counts two and four to run concurrent with count one. * * * The one and one-half year sentences on counts one and three are deemed to be served concurrently since the trial court did not specify otherwise. * * *

"In the present case, there is no stay of execution in the record. Therefore, Golston's effective total sentence of eighteen months was served from November 4, 1991, to May 4, 1993. Additionally, Golston has not presented in the case sub judice 'any evidence from which an inference can be drawn that he will suffer some collateral legal disability or loss of civil rights.' State v. Williams (Cuyahoga 1992), 80 Ohio App.3d 542, 543 [609 N.E.2d 1307] * * *. This appeal is therefore dismissed as moot. Id."

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The cause is now before this court upon the allowance of a motion for leave to appeal.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Cuyahoga County Pros. Atty., and Craig T. Weintraub, Asst. Pros. Atty., Cleveland, for appellee.

American Civ. Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation, Inc., and William M. Saks, Cleveland, for appellant.

DOUGLAS, Justice.

This court has held that where a criminal defendant, convicted of a misdemeanor, voluntarily satisfies the judgment imposed upon him or her for that offense, an appeal from the conviction is moot unless the defendant has offered evidence from which an inference can be drawn that he or she will suffer some collateral legal disability or loss of civil rights stemming from that conviction. See State v. Wilson (1975), 41 Ohio St.2d 236, 70 O.O.2d 431, 325 N.E.2d 236, and State v. Berndt (1987), 29 Ohio St.3d 3, 29 OBR 173, 504 N.E.2d 712.

In Wilson, supra, a defendant pled "no contest" to a charge of carrying a concealed weapon, a three-inch straight razor. Carrying such a concealed weapon is a misdemeanor of...