Ohio Supreme Court holds trial court can't modify own final judgment

Ohio’s supreme court on Dec.22, held that, unless authorized by a specific statutory provision, a trial court generally does not have authority to modify its own final judgment that imposes a criminal sentence.

The Court summarized that “Jack Carlisle of Cleveland had been convicted by a jury of charges in connection with a sexual assault on his 6-year old foster daughter & sentenced to prison terms of three years for kidnapping and one year for gross sexual imposition, with those terms to be served concurrently. The trial court then stayed execution of Carlisle’s sentence and allowed him to remain free on bond while he appealed his convictions.

“The 8th District Court of Appeals affirmed Carlisle’s conviction, revoked his bail, and issued a special mandate (directive) ordering the trial court to proceed with execution of its sentence. But before the trial court acted on the court of appeals’ mandate, however, Carlisle filed a motion asking the trial judge to reconsider and modify his sentence. Asserting it retained authority to modify his sentence until it was executed by delivering him to prison, Carlisle advised the trial court that health conditions from which he had suffered at the time of his trial were chronic and life-threatening, requiring ongoing treatment, including kidney dialysis three times a week, that would have to be paid for by the state if he was sent to prison.

“In addition to challenging the trial court’s authority to modify Carlisle’s sentence in the first instance, the state acknowledged the significant medical expenses associated with Carlisle’s incarceration but represented that it was willing to bear the costs in light of the seriousness of the offense. The state also argued that Carlisle’s medical problems did not prevent him from committing the offenses and, therefore, incarceration was necessary to protect the community.

“The trial court agreed with Carlisle that it retained authority to modify his sentence, and, taking note of the state’s recent budget cuts and the ‘astronomical’ costs the state would incur for Carlisle’s medical treatment, and finding that Carlisle posed no threat to the community, vacated its original sentence and resentenced Carlisle to five years of community control based on ‘a change of circumstances.’

“The state appealed resentencing, arguing that the trial court had acted without legal authority in reconsidering and modifying its original judgment order in the case, which included the sentence.

State v. Carlisle, Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-6553