State v. Blevins, 2012 Ohio 573

Blevins was convicted of possession of chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine after a jury trial.
This court reversed the methamphetamine conviction and remanded to discharge Blevins on that charge.
On remand, the trial court rescinded the methamphetamine conviction and resentenced Blevins on the chemicals charge.
Appointed counsel moved to withdraw under Anders v. California, citing a potentially frivolous appeal and raising one issue about sentencing discretion.
The court held there was a jurisdictional flaw: this court’s remand did not permit resentence on the chemicals charge, rendering the May 27, 2011 judgment void to that extent.
The appellate court reversed the resentencing on the chemicals charge and affirmed the remainder of the judgment; the initial sentence on chemicals remained law of the case.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was the resentencing of Blevins for possession of chemicals improper?	Blevins' position—trial court abused its discretion in selecting a new sentence.	Appellate record shows lack of jurisdiction to resentence on chemicals; resentence void.	Resentencing void; initial sentence remains law of the case.

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) (nonfrivolous appeal standards govern withdrawal of counsel)
Nolan v. Nolan, 11 Ohio St.3d 1 (1984) (court may not extend or vary remand mandate)
Hawley v. Ritley, 35 Ohio St.3d 157 (1988) (remand scope governs trial court authority)
State v. O’Neal, 2008-Ohio-1325 (2008) (jurisdiction limits on resentencing under remand)
State v. Triplett, 2011-Ohio-5431 (2011) (void judgment where court exceeds remand scope)