State v. Brown, 2022 Ohio 4065

Jonathan J. Brown was indicted for aggravated arson (first-degree felony) and pleaded not guilty; the charge was later amended to attempted aggravated arson (second-degree felony) as part of a plea agreement.
Brown entered a guilty plea to the amended count on April 1, 2022; the trial court accepted the plea and entered judgment of conviction.
At sentencing on May 9, 2022, the court overruled Brown’s objection that the Reagan Tokes Law was unconstitutional.
The court imposed an indefinite prison term of 2–3 years under the Reagan Tokes Law and filed judgment the same day.
Brown appealed, raising three constitutional challenges to the Reagan Tokes Law: separation of powers, due process, and the right to a jury trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Reagan Tokes Law violates separation of powers	State: Law is constitutional; sentencing framework is lawful.	Brown: Indefinite sentences delegate judicial power to the executive/parole authority, violating separation of powers.	Court: Rejected; no facial separation-of-powers violation, relying on prior precedent.
Whether the Reagan Tokes Law violates due process	State: Procedures satisfy due process.	Brown: Indefinite term and post-sentence review deprive fair notice and procedural protections.	Court: Rejected; law does not infringe defendants’ due process rights.
Whether the Reagan Tokes Law infringes the right to jury trial	State: Sentence-setting mechanism is constitutional.	Brown: Extending incarceration beyond judicial term implicates jury-tried facts and rights.	Court: Rejected; jury-trial claim unavailing under controlling precedent.

The opinion primarily relied on the court’s prior unpublished Third District rulings addressing Reagan Tokes constitutional challenges. No officially reported (regional or national reporter) cases with Bluebook reporter citations were cited in the opinion.