Summary
The court held that a youthful offender who had been sentenced to incarceration but was later released on shock probation had previously served a sentence in a correctional institution within the meaning of Ohio Revised Code section 5143.03. Accordingly, the trial court properly sentenced him to a penitentiary rather than a reformatory, and the judgment was affirmed.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether a defendant who was sentenced to a correctional institution and later received shock probation has previously served a sentence in a correctional institution within the meaning of R.C. 5143.03.
- Whether the trial court properly sentenced Smith to a penitentiary rather than a reformatory.
Holdings
- A defendant has served a sentence in a correctional institution within the meaning of R.C. 5143.03 when the defendant was sentenced to incarceration and the sentence was later modified through shock probation; the defendant need not serve the entire minimum term.
- The trial court properly sentenced Smith to serve the robbery sentence in a penitentiary because he had previously served a felony sentence in a correctional institution.
Key quotations
“We conclude that defendant had previously served a sentence in a correctional institution within the contemplation of R.C.5143.03, and that the trial court properly sentenced him on the robbery conviction to serve his sentence of incarceration in a penitentiary.” (143)
Factual background
At age nineteen, Michael S. Smith pleaded guilty to robbery. He had previously been convicted of a felony, sentenced to an indefinite one-to-five-year term in the state reformatory, and granted shock probation after serving the time prescribed by law. The trial court reinstated the prior sentence, imposed an indefinite three-to-fifteen-year robbery sentence, and ordered the sentences served consecutively in a penitentiary.
Procedural history
Smith pleaded guilty to robbery after having previously been convicted of a felony, sentenced to an indefinite term in the state reformatory, and released on shock probation. The trial court reinstated the prior incarceration sentence, imposed an indefinite three-to-fifteen-year sentence for robbery, and ordered the sentences served consecutively in a penitentiary. The Ohio Court of Appeals overruled Smith's assignment of error and affirmed.