State v. Cobb, 2013 Ohio 2390

State v. Cobb is an Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals criminal appeal from Butler County regarding sentencing costs.
Anthony Cobb, defendant-appellant, is represented after filing an Anders brief indicating potential non-prejudicial issues and seeking permission to withdraw.
The trial court sentenced Cobb and ordered him to pay court costs, with no accompanying advisement that he could be required to perform community service if costs were unpaid.
The record lacks the mandated notice under R.C. 2947.23(A)(1) about possible community-service penalties for nonpayment.
The appellate court treated the deficiency as plain error and proceeded to review arguments despite the Anders withdrawal request.
The court granted the withdrawal, reversed the costs portion of Cobb’s sentence, and remanded for proper imposition of costs consistent with controlling law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether lack of R.C. 2947.23(A)(1) notice is reversible error	State maintains notice is mandatory	Cobb argues no prejudicial error or affirmance required	Plain error; reversal and remand for proper costs imposition

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (U.S. (1967)) (counsel may seek withdrawal if appeal frivolous)
Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (U.S. (1988)) (plain-error standard allows corrective action even when unpreserved)
State v. Smith, 131 Ohio St.3d 297 (Ohio Supreme Court (2012)) (notice for community-service-in-lieu of costs is mandatory at sentencing)