State v. Brown, 2015 Ohio 2960

Defendant Vivian Brown convicted after bench trial for theft of a textbook from a college bookstore; state showed she left with four books but paid for only three.
After the court found her guilty, Brown and several spectators loudly protested, used profanity, and disrupted the courtroom.
The court announced a sentence of 180 days in jail (the statutory maximum for the misdemeanor offense) and costs, ordered Brown removed, and directed the clerk to prepare a contempt citation for the spectators.
Brown appealed, arguing the court violated Crim.R. 32 by denying allocution and counsel the opportunity to speak, and that the court abused its discretion by imposing the maximum jail term without proper consideration of R.C. 2929.22 factors.
The court of appeals reviewed whether Crim.R. 32 allocution requirements and misdemeanor-sentencing standards were satisfied and whether any error was harmless or invited.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Right of allocution to defendant	Court afforded opportunity; defendant had chance to speak	Brown claims she was not personally asked to exercise allocution before sentence	Held: No error — Brown personally spoke at length; allocution requirement satisfied (no need to remand)
Opportunity for counsel to speak	Court gave counsel the opportunity to address the court	Brown says counsel was not allowed to speak on her behalf	Held: Counsel was offered the chance and chose not to speak; claim waived on appeal
Harmless vs. structural error	State: any Crim.R. 32 error was not present or, if any, was harmless/invited	Brown: failure to follow Crim.R. 32 requires resentencing	Held: No reversible error — record shows defendant spoke and counsel declined; not analogous to cases requiring remand
Maximum misdemeanor sentence discretion	State: 180 days is within statutory range and court is presumed to have considered applicable factors	Brown: court failed to consider R.C. 2929.22 and abused discretion imposing maximum term	Held: Sentence within statutory range; presumption that statutory factors considered; court did not abuse discretion

State v. Green, 90 Ohio St.3d 352, 738 N.E.2d 1208 (Ohio 2000) (trial courts must painstakingly adhere to Crim.R. 32 and personally address defendants at sentencing)
Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301 (U.S. 1961) (allocution is the defendant's right; counsel cannot substitute for defendant's personal statement)
State v. Campbell, 90 Ohio St.3d 320, 738 N.E.2d 1178 (Ohio 2000) (failure to ask defendant to exercise allocution requires resentencing unless error is invited or harmless)