State v. Claggett , 2022 Ohio 701 ( 2022 )

[Cite as State v. Claggett, 2022-Ohio-701.]
COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
STATE OF OHIO, :
Plaintiff-Appellee, :
No. 109324
v. :
LORENZO CLAGGETT, :
Defendant-Appellant. :
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED
RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: March 10, 2022
Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Case No. CR-19-639912-A
Appearances:
Michael C. O’Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting
Attorney, and Jennifer M. Meyer, Assistant Prosecuting
Attorney, for appellee.
John P. Hildebrand Co., LPA, and John P. Hildebrand,
Sr., for appellant.
SEAN C. GALLAGHER, A.J.:
Lorenzo Claggett appeals from his non-life indefinite felony sentence
imposed under R.C. 2929.144. For the following reasons, we affirm his burglary
conviction.
Claggett pleaded guilty to burglary, a qualifying felony of the second
degree, and criminal damaging, a second-degree misdemeanor. At the time of his
plea, the trial court indicated that because Claggett was pleading guilty to a felony of
the second degree committed after the effective date of the Reagan Tokes Law, the
sentencing provisions under R.C. 2929.144 and 2929.14(A)(2)(a) would apply.
Claggett indicated he understood and proceeded with his guilty plea. Under R.C.
2929.144 and 2929.14(A)(2)(a), Claggett was sentenced to serve a non-life indefinite
sentence for a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years.
In this appeal, Claggett presents a single assignment of error in which
he broadly claims, citing the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution and Article I, Section 16, of the Ohio Constitution, (1) that the Reagan
Tokes Law violates the right to trial by jury; (2) that the Reagan Tokes Law violates
the separation-of-powers doctrine; or (3) that R.C. 2967.271(C) and (D), which
provide offenders with the right to a hearing before imposition of the maximum
term imposed under R.C. 2929.144, fail to provide the full panoply of constitutional
pretrial rights in violation of their due process rights. We need not dwell on the
arguments presented since Claggett’s arguments are identical to the ones advanced
in the en banc proceedings in State v. Delvallie, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 109315,
2022-Ohio-470. Based on the authority established by this district’s en banc
holding in Delvallie, the challenges Claggett advanced against the constitutional
validity of the Reagan Tokes Law have been overruled and the law as defined under
R.C. 2901.011 deemed enforceable. See id. at ¶ 17-51. As a result, Claggett’s
argument challenging the sentence imposed under the Reagan Tokes Law is likewise
overruled.
We affirm Claggett’s burglary conviction.
It is ordered that appellee recover from appellant costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the
common pleas court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant’s
conviction having been affirmed, any bail pending is terminated. Case remanded to
the trial court for execution of sentence.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27
of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
____________________________________
SEAN C. GALLAGHER, ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, JR., J., and
EILEEN A. GALLAGHER, J., CONCUR