State v. Sandlin7/28/1999
[Cite as State v. Sandlin (1999), 86 Ohio St.3d 165.]
Submitted May 18, 1999
On May 14, 1992, appellant, David H. Sandlin, was indicted for one count of aggravated vehicular assault, a violation of R.C. 2903.08, one count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol ("DUI"), a violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1), and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration greater than .10 percent, a violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(2). All charges arose from the same incident, an automobile accident on April 27, 1992, in Clermont County, Ohio. Appellant drove his vehicle left of center and struck another individual's vehicle, injuring the second individual. After the accident, a test of appellant's blood yielded a blood-alcohol content of .28 percent.
On June 30, 1992, appellant pled guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular assault and one count of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration greater than .10 percent. On July 1, 1992, the trial court found appellant guilty of the two charges and on August 5, 1992, appellant was sentenced to jail time and ordered to pay a fine. On August 14, 1992, the court suspended appellant's jail sentence and placed appellant on three to five years' probation. On May 27, 1994, the court terminated appellant's probation.
On August 22, 1997, appellant filed in the trial court a motion to seal the record of his aggravated vehicular assault conviction. Appellee, state of Ohio, opposed the motion, asserting that appellant was not a "first offender" for purposes of R.C. 2953.32, and thus the trial court could not seal appellant's record. On October 6, 1997, the trial court denied appellant's motion. The court of appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court, holding that appellant did not meet the definition of "first offender" because his DUI conviction must be considered a previous or subsequent conviction. The court of appeals, finding its judgment in conflict with that of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth District in State v. McGinnis (1993), 90 Ohio App.3d 479, 629 N.E.2d 1084, entered an order certifying a conflict, and we determined that a conflict existed.
The issue certified in this case is "whether a conviction for violation of R.C. 4511.19 which `shall be considered a previous or subsequent conviction' pursuant to R.C. 2953.31(A), precludes a defendant from satisfying the statutory definition of a `first offender' contained in R.C. 2953.31(A) even if the conviction sought to be expunged resulted from or was connected with the R.C. 4511.19 violation."
A court may order all official records pertaining to a criminal conviction sealed (or expunged) if the offender is a "first offender" and meets certain other criteria not pertinent to this appeal. R.C. 2953.32(C)(2). R.C. 2953.31(A) defines "first offender" as:
" nyone who has been convicted of an offense in this state or any other jurisdiction, and who previously or subsequently has not been convicted of the same or a different offense in this state or any other jurisdiction. When two or more convictions result from or are connected with the same act, or result from offenses committed at the same time, they shall be counted as one conviction."
"For purposes of, and except as otherwise provided in, this division, a conviction for a minor misdemeanor, a conviction for a violation of any section in Chapter 4511., 4513., or 4549. of the Revised Code, or a conviction for a violation of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any section in those chapters, is not a previous or subsequent conviction. A conviction for a violation of section 4511.19, 4511.192, 4511.251, 4549.02, 4549.
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