State v. Lewis

Summary

The Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals affirmed judgments imposing concurrent prison terms in two criminal cases and awarding jail-time credit in only one case. The court held that concurrent sentences do not automatically entitle a defendant to credit earned in one case against an unrelated offense, and that the defendant failed to show plain error or entitlement to credit for the aggravated-possession sentence.

Holdings

1. Concurrent sentencing does not automatically entitle an offender to receive in every case the jail-time credit awarded in another case. Under Ohio's jail-time-credit provisions, credit is offense-specific and applies only to confinement arising from the offense for which the sentence was imposed.
2. Lewis failed to establish plain error because he identified no obvious error in the trial court's jail-time-credit calculation and supplied no record support showing entitlement to credit in the aggravated-possession case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court committed plain error by failing to award Lewis jail-time credit in both unrelated cases when the prison terms were ordered to run concurrently.
2. Whether jail-time credit earned in one case must be applied to every case in which concurrent prison terms are imposed.

Disposition

affirmed