2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 29 | Crimes-Procedure › Chapter 2951 | Probation › Section 2951.02 | Factors to Consider When Granting Probation or Suspending Sentence.

Effective:
April 4, 2023
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 16, Senate Bill 288 - 134th General Assembly
(A)(1) During the period of a misdemeanor offender's community control sanction or during the period of a felony offender's nonresidential sanction, authorized probation officers who are engaged within the scope of their supervisory duties or responsibilities may search, with or without a warrant, the person of the offender, the place of residence of the offender, and a motor vehicle, another item of tangible or intangible personal property, or other real property in which the offender has a right, title, or interest or for which the offender has the express or implied permission of a person with a right, title, or interest to use, occupy, or possess if any of the following apply:
(a) The probation officers have reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is not abiding by the law or otherwise is not complying with the conditions of the misdemeanor offender's community control sanction or the conditions of the felony offender's nonresidential sanction.
(b) If the offender is a felony offender, the court requires the offender's consent to searches as part of the terms and conditions of community control, and the offender agreed to those terms and conditions.
(c) If the offender is a felony offender, the offender otherwise provides consent for the search.
(2) If a felony offender who is sentenced to a nonresidential sanction is under the general control and supervision of the adult parole authority, as described in division (A)(2)(a) of section 2929.15 of the Revised Code, adult parole authority field officers with supervisory responsibilities over the felony offender shall have the same search authority relative to the felony offender during the period of the sanction that is described under division (A)(1) of this section for probation officers.
(3) If a misdemeanor offender is placed under a community control sanction pursuant to section 2929.25 of the Revised Code or if a felony offender is sentenced to a nonresidential sanction pursuant to section 2929.17 of the Revised Code, the court that places the misdemeanor offender under the sanction or sentences the felony offender to the sanction shall provide the offender with a written notice that informs the offender that authorized probation officers or adult parole authority field officers with supervisory responsibilities over the offender who are engaged within the scope of their supervisory duties or responsibilities may conduct the types of searches described in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section during the period of community control sanction or the nonresidential sanction if any of the following apply:
(a) The officers have reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is not abiding by the law or otherwise is not complying with the conditions of the offender's community control sanction or nonresidential sanction.
(b) If the offender is a felony offender, the court requires the offender's consent to searches as part of the terms and conditions of community control, and the offender agreed to those terms and conditions.
(c) If the offender is a felony offender, the offender otherwise provides consent for the search.
(B) If an offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a misdemeanor, the court may require the offender, as a condition of the offender's sentence of a community control sanction, to perform supervised community service work in accordance with this division. If an offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony, the court, pursuant to sections 2929.15 and 2929.17 of the Revised Code, may impose a sanction that requires the offender to perform supervised community service work in accordance with this division. The supervised community service work shall be under the authority of health districts, park districts, counties, municipal corporations, townships, other political subdivisions of the state, or agencies of the state or any of its political subdivisions, or under the authority of charitable organizations that render services to the community or its citizens, in accordance with this division. The court may require an offender who is ordered to perform the work to pay to it a reasonable fee to cover the costs of the offender's participation in the work, including, but not limited to, the costs of procuring a policy or policies of liability insurance to cover the period during which the offender will perform the work.
A court may permit any offender convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor to satisfy the payment of a fine imposed for the offense pursuant to section 2929.18 or 2929.28 of the Revised Code by performing supervised community service work as described in this division if the offender requests an opportunity to satisfy the payment by this means and if the court determines that the offender is financially unable to pay the fine.
After imposing a term of community service, the court may modify the sentence to authorize a reasonable contribution to the appropriate general fund as provided in division (B) of section 2929.27 of the Revised Code.
The supervised community service work that may be imposed under this division shall be subject to the following limitations:
(1) The court shall fix the period of the work and, if necessary, shall distribute it over weekends or over other appropriate times that will allow the offender to continue at the offender's occupation or to care for the offender's family. The period of the work as fixed by the court shall not exceed in the aggregate the number of hours of community service imposed by the court pursuant to section 2929.17 or 2929.27 of the Revised Code.
(2) An agency, political subdivision, or charitable organization must agree to accept the offender for the work before the court requires the offender to perform the work for the entity. A court shall not require an offender to perform supervised community service work for an agency, political subdivision, or charitable organization at a location that is an unreasonable distance from the offender's residence or domicile, unless the offender is provided with transportation to the location where the work is to be performed.
(3) A court may enter into an agreement with a county department of job and family services for the management, placement, and supervision of offenders eligible for community service work in work activities, developmental activities, and alternative work activities under sections 5107.40 to 5107.69 of the Revised Code. If a court and a county department of job and family services have entered into an agreement of that nature, the clerk of that court is authorized to pay directly to the county department all or a portion of the fees collected by the court pursuant to this division in accordance with the terms of its agreement.
(4) Community service work that a court requires under this division shall be supervised by an official of the agency, political subdivision, or charitable organization for which the work is performed or by a person designated by the agency, political subdivision, or charitable organization. The official or designated person shall be qualified for the supervision by education, training, or experience, and periodically shall report, in writing, to the court and to the offender's probation officer concerning the conduct of the offender in performing the work.
(5) The total of any period of supervised community service work imposed on an offender under division (B) of this section plus the period of all other sanctions imposed pursuant to sections 2929.15, 2929.16, 2929.17, and 2929.18 of the Revised Code for a felony, or pursuant to sections 2929.25, 2929.26, 2929.27, and 2929.28 of the Revised Code for a misdemeanor, shall not exceed five years.
(C)(1) If an offender is convicted of a violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a substantially similar municipal ordinance, the court may require, as a condition of a community control sanction, that the offender operate only a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device that is certified pursuant to section 4510.43 of the Revised Code.
(2) If a court requires an offender, as a condition of a community control sanction pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, to operate only a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device that is certified pursuant to section 4510.43 of the Revised Code, the offender immediately shall surrender the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit to the court. Upon the receipt of the offender's license or permit, the court shall issue an order authorizing the offender to operate a motor vehicle equipped with a certified ignition interlock device and deliver the offender's license or permit to the registrar of motor vehicles. The court also shall give the offender a copy of its order for purposes of obtaining a restricted license.
(3) An offender shall present to the registrar or to a deputy registrar the copy of the order issued under division (C) of this section and a certificate affirming the installation of an ignition interlock device that is in a form established by the director of public safety and that is signed by the person who installed the device. Upon presentation of the order and certificate, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue a restricted license to the offender, unless the offender's driver's license or commercial driver's license or permit is suspended under any other provision of law and limited driving privileges have not been granted with regard to that suspension. The restricted license shall be identical to the surrendered license, except that it shall have printed on its face a statement that the offender is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock device that is certified pursuant to section 4510.43 of the Revised Code. The registrar shall deliver the offender's surrendered license or permit to the court upon receipt of a court order requiring it to do so, or reissue the offender's license or permit under section 4510.52 of the Revised Code if the registrar destroyed the offender's license or permit under that section. The offender shall surrender the restricted license to the court upon receipt of the offender's surrendered license or permit.
(4) If an offender violates a requirement of the court imposed under division (C)(1) of this section, the court may impose a class seven suspension of the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(7) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code. On a second or subsequent violation, the court may impose a class four suspension of the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(4) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code.
Last updated February 7, 2023 at 9:51 AM