The State of Ohio, Appellee v. Marcum, Appellant

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that after H.B. 86 took effect, appellate courts reviewing felony sentences must apply the plain language of R.C. 2953.08(G)(2): a sentence may be vacated or modified only upon a clear-and-convincing finding that the record does not support the sentencing court's statutory findings or that the sentence is otherwise contrary to law, and the abuse-of-discretion standard may not be applied to sentencing-term challenges. The two-step test of the Kalish plurality, which layered abuse-of-discretion review atop a legal inquiry, therefore does not govern. Because the record amply supported Mary Marcum's ten-year term for manufacturing methamphetamine in the vicinity of a juvenile and the term was not clearly and convincingly contrary to law, the Fourth District's judgment affirming the sentence was affirmed. No separate opinions were filed.