State v. Brewer, 2013 Ohio 5118

Carl Brewer was indicted on two counts of second-degree burglary and agreed to plead guilty to count two in exchange for the state dismissing count one and recommending a prison term not to exceed four years; Brewer would argue for community control.
The court accepted Brewer’s guilty plea and continued the case for sentencing.
At sentencing the court rejected the state’s recommendation and imposed seven years in prison and $1,000 restitution.
The written plea agreement and the August 27, 2012 guilty-plea entry reference the dismissal of count one, but no separate journal entry disposes of that charge.
The October 26, 2012 sentencing entry includes the fact of conviction, the sentence, the judge’s signature, and the clerk’s time stamp, but does not mention the disposition of the other burglary charge.
The court sua sponte considered whether the record produced a final, appealable order and concluded the unresolved "hanging" charge deprived it of jurisdiction; the appeal was dismissed without reaching the merits.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the sentencing entry is a final, appealable order given the other burglary charge	The sentencing entry satisfies Lester elements and is appealable	Brewer contends sentencing and plea agreement resolved the case; challenges sentence and restitution on merits	Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because the dismissed charge was not disposed of by journal entry; merits not reached
Whether the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a near-maximum sentence	State argued sentence was permissible	Brewer argued the seven-year term (near max) was excessive	Not addressed on merits due to dismissal for lack of final order
Whether court erred by ordering $1,000 restitution without inquiring into ability to pay under R.C. 2929.19(B)(6)	State maintained restitution was proper	Brewer argued the court failed to inquire into ability to pay	Not addressed on merits because appeal dismissed for lack of final order
Whether Brewer received ineffective assistance of counsel at plea/sentencing	State did not present merits below	Brewer alleged ineffective assistance (plea/sentencing)	Not addressed on merits because appeal dismissed for lack of final order

Lester v. State, 130 Ohio St.3d 303 (recognizes Crim.R. 32(C) requirements for a journal entry to create a final, appealable sentence)
State ex rel. Rose v. McGinty, 128 Ohio St.3d 371 (explains that dismissed charges need not appear in the conviction entry only if they have been properly terminated by journal entry)