State v. Efford, 2023 Ohio 3360

Deamaute Efford was indicted in two Cuyahoga County cases: a 2019 domestic-violence felony (with a pregnant-victim specification) and a 2020 multi-count indictment arising from the killing of Tavon Powell (including aggravated murder and related charges).
In a negotiated plea (Aug. 23, 2021) Efford pleaded guilty in the 2019 case and, in the 2020 case, to involuntary manslaughter (as amended) and aggravated robbery; the parties agreed the two 2020 convictions would not merge and the State recommended a 10–15 year "floor."
Efford agreed to cooperate and testified against a codefendant; the trial court explicitly warned it was not bound by the State’s recommendation.
At sentencing (Sept. 30, 2022) the court found Efford was the instigator, noted he wore a court GPS monitor during the robbery, and imposed consecutive terms producing a 20 to 25.5 year aggregate sentence; the court also imposed 12 months on the domestic-violence count (credit for time served).
The journal entry incorrectly stated Efford pleaded guilty to prior-conviction and repeat-violent-offender (RVO) specifications (he was never charged with those); the State conceded this was an error.
Efford appealed assigning error as to (1) consecutive sentences, (2) conviction/entry for specifications not charged, and (3) constitutionality of the Reagan Tokes Law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether consecutive sentences were supported by the record	The court’s findings (necessary to protect the public and to punish; not disproportionate; offenses committed while awaiting trial) are supported by the record	Record lacks clear-and-convincing proof for consecutive findings; plain error	Court upheld consecutive sentences — findings made and supported by record (assignment 1 overruled)
Trial court’s journal entry listing prior-conviction and RVO specifications not charged	State concedes the journal entry was erroneous and should be corrected	Entry incorrectly records convictions/specs that were never charged or pled to	Court sustained this error and remanded for a nunc pro tunc entry correcting the journal (assignment 2 sustained)
Constitutionality of the Reagan Tokes Law sentencing scheme	Reagan Tokes is constitutional under recent Ohio Supreme Court precedent	Law violates jury-trial, due-process, and separation-of-powers guarantees	Court rejected Efford’s challenge consistent with State v. Hacker; assignment 3 overruled

Marcum v. State, 59 N.E.3d 1231 (Ohio 2016) (standard for appellate review of felony sentences)
In re Estate of Haynes, 495 N.E.2d 23 (Ohio 1986) (definition of the clear-and-convincing evidence standard)
State v. Hunter, 960 N.E.2d 955 (Ohio 2011) (preservation, forfeiture, and plain-error principles in criminal appeals)
State v. Whitaker, 207 N.E.3d 677 (Ohio 2022) (discussion of forfeiture and plain-error review of sentencing issues)