State v. Eader, 2013 Ohio 3709

Background

Garbage truck caught fire after collecting trash from 725 Newcastle Drive; fire crew and police located burnt lab-related items in pile and an intact closed bag containing similar items plus mail addressed to Benjamin Eader at 725 Newcastle Drive.
Officer Lemonier searched the trash pile, recovered pseudoephedrine blister packs, lithium, gloves, cold packs, gas generators, and other items; used those facts to obtain a search warrant for 725 Newcastle Drive.
Warrant search of the residence uncovered methamphetamine production components, multiple firearms, and $5,400 in cash; grand jury indicted Eader on manufacturing, assembly/possession of chemicals, having weapons while under disability, aggravated possession, and two forfeiture specifications.
Eader moved to suppress; trial court denied the motion. Eader pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 5 years prison, mandatory fines, costs, attorney fees, and forfeiture of $5,400.
On appeal, Eader raised seven assignments of error challenging burden of proof at suppression, effectiveness of counsel, denial of suppression (probable cause), assessment of court costs and attorney fees, and imposition of mandatory fines.

Issues

Issue	Eader's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Burden of proof at suppression	Trial court improperly placed burden on Eader; court forced defense to call officer	Because search was pursuant to warrant, defendant must show warrant invalid	Court: burden properly on Eader for a warrant-based search; assignment overruled
Ineffective assistance re: burden	Counsel ineffective for not objecting to burden placement	No error occurred, so no deficient performance	Court: claim fails as premised on nonexistent error
Probable cause for warrant	Trash from neighborhood diluted source; items could belong to anyone; mail in large pile not probative	Closed bag with Eader’s mail found near burnt bag; similar items in both bags and driver linked burnt bag to 725 Newcastle	Court: affidavit provided substantial basis for probable cause; suppression denial upheld
Court costs notification (R.C. 2947.23)	Trial court failed to notify of community-service alternative when imposing costs	(implicit) court imposed costs at sentencing	Court: trial court failed to give required notice; remand for proper imposition of costs (assignment sustained)
Attorney fees (R.C. 2941.51(D))	Court imposed attorney fees without finding ability to pay	State argued record showed consideration of ability to pay	Court: statutory ability-to-pay finding required before imposing fees; remand for determination (assignment sustained)
Mandatory fines (R.C. 2929.18(B)(1))	Court erred by imposing/waiving fines inconsistently and by waiving without affidavit of indigency	Mandatory fines required absent affidavit of indigency; court improperly attempted to waive without affidavit	Court: defendant never filed indigency affidavit; trial court was required to impose two mandatory fines and its failure to do so rendered that portion of sentence void; remand for resentencing on fines (assignment overruled on merit but remanded for void portion)

Key Cases Cited

State v. Mills, 62 Ohio St.3d 357 (appellate review defers to trial court on facts) (trial court is trier of fact for suppression hearings)
State v. Fanning, 1 Ohio St.3d 19 (appellate courts accept trial court factual findings if supported by competent, credible evidence)
State v. McNamara, 124 Ohio App.3d 706 (standard for de novo legal review after factual findings in suppression appeals)
State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152 (mixed question of law and fact; appellate standard described)
State v. George, 45 Ohio St.3d 325 (probable cause in affidavit: practical, common-sense determination; deference to issuing judge)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (probable cause standard: fair probability test)
State v. Moore, 135 Ohio St.3d 151 (failure to impose mandatory fine when affidavit of indigency not filed renders that part of sentence void)