Opinion ID: 2478526
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Requirements for final, appealable orders under R.C. 2929.03(F)

Text: {¶ 6} Because it is potentially dispositive of this case, we first address Proposition of Law II, in which Ketterer states that a trial court's sentencing must be vacated if it does not contain the information required by Crim.R. 32(C). On October 29, 2009, we ordered that the parties file supplemental briefs to address whether the November 15, 2007 nunc pro tunc sentencing entry is a final, appealable order in light of our decision in State v. Baker, 119 Ohio St.3d 197, 2008-Ohio-3330, 893 N.E.2d 163. Ketterer argues that the trial court's November 7, 2007 nunc pro tunc entry does not comply with Baker because it fails to reflect Ketterer's guilty pleas. {¶ 7} The state responds that because R.C. 2929.03(F) requires courts to file a separate sentencing opinion setting forth the court's specific findings in cases in which the death penalty is imposed, the final, appealable order in Ketterer's case is the combination of the judgment entry of conviction filed in May 2007, the nunc pro tunc entry filed in November 2007, and the sentencing opinion in support of the death penalty filed in February 2004. The state recognizes that the nunc pro tunc entry does not state specifically that Ketterer pleaded guilty but argues that because the 2004 sentencing opinion states that Ketterer waived his right to a jury and entered a plea of guilty to all charges January 27, 2004, the combination of the nunc pro tunc entry and the sentencing opinion satisfies Baker. {¶ 8} `[I]n order to decide whether an order issued by a trial court in a criminal proceeding is a reviewable final order, appellate courts should apply the definitions of final order contained in R.C. 2505.02.' State v. Baker, 119 Ohio St.3d 197, 2008-Ohio-3330, 893 N.E.2d 163, ¶ 6, quoting State v. Muncie (2001), 91 Ohio St.3d 440, 444, 746 N.E.2d 1092, citing State ex rel. Leis v. Kraft (1984), 10 Ohio St.3d 34, 36, 10 OBR 237, 460 N.E.2d 1372. R.C. 2505.02(B) states: {¶ 9} An order is a final order that may be reviewed, affirmed, modified, or reversed, with or without retrial, when it is one of the following: {¶ 10} (1) An order that affects a substantial right in an action that in effect determines the action and prevents a judgment. {¶ 11} Crim.R. 32(C) sets forth the requirements for a final, appealable order in criminal cases. It states that [a] judgment of conviction shall set forth the plea, the verdict, or findings, upon which each conviction is based, and the sentence. It further states: The judge shall sign the judgment and the clerk shall enter it on the journal. A judgment is effective only when entered on the journal by the clerk. {¶ 12} But we must also recognize that Ketterer was also convicted in a capital case. R.C. 2929.03(F) requires the trial court to issue a separate sentencing opinion in addition to the judgment of conviction in cases in which the death penalty may be imposed. The statute provides: {¶ 13} The court or the panel of three judges, when it imposes sentence of death, shall state in a separate opinion its specific findings as to the existence of any of the mitigating factors set forth in division (B) of section 2929.04 of the Revised Code, the existence of any other mitigating factors, the aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of committing, and the reasons why the aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of committing were sufficient to outweigh the mitigating factors.    For cases in which a sentence of death is imposed for an offense committed on or after January 1, 1995, the court or panel shall file the opinion required to be prepared by this division with the clerk of the supreme court within fifteen days after the court or panel imposes sentence. The judgment in a case in which a sentencing hearing is held pursuant to this section is not final until the opinion is filed. {¶ 14} In Baker, we did not address any interaction between R.C. 2929.03(F) and Crim.R. 32(C). Baker entered a not-guilty plea at his arraignment and, after a jury trial, was convicted of having weapons while under a disability and obstructing official business. The court of appeals had granted the state's motion to dismiss Baker's appeal for lack of a final order because the judgment of conviction did not contain Baker's initial plea of not guilty. State v. Baker, 119 Ohio St.3d 197, 2008-Ohio-3330, 893 N.E.2d 163, ¶ 3. The Ninth District certified a conflict to this court, and we accepted the certified question to determine what must be included in a judgment of conviction to allow it to become a final, appealable order pursuant to Crim.R. 32(C). {¶ 15} The first issue in Baker was whether, under Crim.R. 32(C), the plea, the verdict or findings, and the sentence must be contained within a single document. We noted that the Twelfth District erroneously interpreted Crim.R. 32(C) when it held that multiple documents were sufficient to meet the rules requirements in State v. Postway, 12th Dist. No. CA2002-06-154, 2003-Ohio-2689, 2003 WL 21213409, and we held that [o]nly one document can constitute a final appealable order. State v. Baker, 119 Ohio St.3d 197, 2008-Ohio-3330, 893 N.E.2d 163, ¶ 17. {¶ 16} The second issue in the case was whether the judgment of conviction must include the plea entered at arraignment. We held that the judgment of conviction is a single document that need not necessarily include the plea entered at arraignment. Id. at ¶ 1. After analyzing Crim.R. 32(C), we emphasized that a judgment of conviction is a final appealable order under R.C. 2505.02 when it sets forth (1) the guilty plea, the jury verdict, or the finding of the court upon which the conviction is based; (2) the sentence; (3) the signature of the judge; and (4) entry on the journal by the clerk of court. Id. at ¶ 18. In so holding, we noted that the trial court is required to sign and journalize a document memorializing the sentence and the manner of the conviction. Id. at ¶ 14. {¶ 17} We distinguish the present case from Baker and agree with the state that in aggravated-murder cases subject to R.C. 2929.03(F), the final, appealable order consists of the combination of the judgment entry and the sentencing opinion. Because R.C. 2929.03(F) requires the court to file a sentencing opinion, Baker does not control this case, because Baker addressed only noncapital criminal cases, in which a judgment of conviction alone constitutes a final, appealable order. R.C. 2929.03(F) requires that a separate sentencing opinion be filed in addition to the judgment of conviction, and the statute specifies that the court's judgment is not final until the sentencing opinion has been filed. Capital cases, in which an R.C. 2929.03(F) sentencing opinion is necessary, are clear exceptions to Baker 's one document rule. {¶ 18} We hold that in cases in which R.C. 2929.03(F) requires the court or panel to file a sentencing opinion, a final, appealable order consists of both the sentencing opinion filed pursuant to R.C. 2929.03(F) and the judgment of conviction filed pursuant to Crim.R. 32(C). Therefore, while the final, appealable order must satisfy the four requirements enumerated in Baker, the first requirement  that the final, appealable order include the guilty plea, the jury verdict, or the finding of the court upon which the conviction is based  will be satisfied if either the judgment of conviction or the sentencing opinion includes the guilty plea, jury verdict, or finding of the court upon which the conviction is based. {¶ 19} Ketterer's sentencing opinion states, The defendant waived his right to a jury and entered a plea of guilty to all charges January 27, 2004. Evidence was presented as to the charges. The three Judge panel returned a verdict of guilty to the One Count of Aggravated Murder and guilty to all three specifications contained in the indictment as well as a verdict of guilty on Count Two, Three, Four and Five of the indictment. The November 2007 nunc pro tunc entry states that the trial court has considered the record, the charges, the defendant's Guilty Finding by Judges, and findings as set forth on the record and herein. While the court failed to set forth Ketterer's guilty plea in the judgment of conviction, the sentencing opinion states that Ketterer pleaded guilty and satisfies the requirement that the final, appealable order set forth the guilty plea, the jury verdict, or the finding of the court upon which the conviction is based. The sentencing opinion and judgment of conviction combine to form a valid final, appealable order.