Youngstown Daily Legal News

54-month prison term stands for woman’s second OVI

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: August 5, 2014

Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals recently affirmed a 54-month incarceration period for a woman convicted of operating her vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Kari Mercier appealed from the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas sentencing her to 54 months of incarceration for third-degree OVI. She claimed that her sentence exceeded the maximum penalty permitted under Ohio’s Revised Code.

The procedural history of the case stated that the Franklin County Grand Jury indicted Mercier for two counts of felony OVI in October 2012. She had previously been convicted of OVI in May 2011, rendering her new charges third-degree felonies.

As part of a negotiated plea agreement, Mercier pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment and the state dismissed the second count. The trial court then sentenced her to 54 months of incarceration, pursuant to R.C. 4511.19(G)(1)(e) and she appealed to the 10th District Court of Appeals.

“Appellant argues the maximum allowable sentence for a third-degree felony OVI conviction should be three years incarceration pursuant to R.C. 2929.14(A)(3)(b),” Judge Betsy Luper Schuster wrote for the court.

In response, the state argued that Mercier was sentenced under R.C. 4511.19, rather than the section she cited on appeal, and that the proper statute authorized a trial court to impose a maximum sentence of five years.

Upon initial review, the appellate judges noted that subsection A of the statute cited by Mercier would permit up to a 60-month sentence. Still, they held that Mercier was correct in stating that the subsection could not apply because she did not have two or more prior violations.

However, the judges disagreed with her claim that she should be sentenced under R.C. 2929.14, which allowed a maximum prison term of 36 months.

Instead, they maintained that she was convicted under R.C. 4511.19 and that she should be sentenced under subsection G of that statute.

“R.C. 4511.19(G)(1)(e)(i) specifically authorizes a mandatory prison term of 60 days under R.C. 2929.13 and an additional prison term, the cumulative total of which is not to exceed five years,” Judge Luper Schuster stated.

The judges found that the language of the statute was plain and unambiguous as it clearly conveyed its meaning. The statute clearly indicated that the statute Mercier relied on was inapplicable in her case due to her prior conviction and her guilty plea to a third-degree felony.

“That statute is not implicated here,” Judge Luper Schuster wrote.

Rather, the judges found that the trial court used the applicable statute and issued a sentence well within its sentencing range.

“Based on the foregoing reasons, we find the trial court did not err and appellant’s sentence was not contrary to law. Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s assignment of error and affirm the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas,” Judge Luper Schuster wrote in conclusion.

Judges Amy O’Grady and Susan Brown concurred.

The case is cited State v. Mercier, 2014-Ohio-2910.

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