State v. Gessel, 2020 Ohio 403

Steve A. Gessel was indicted on multiple felonies including rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, abduction, and kidnapping; some counts were later dismissed.
At a change-of-plea hearing Gessel pled guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor (one count as a plea amendment).
The trial court sentenced Gessel to 48 months on each count, ordered the sentences to run consecutively for an aggregate term of 96 months, and imposed costs including court-appointed counsel fees and supervision fees.
Gessel timely appealed, asserting (1) the consecutive-sentence findings required by R.C. 2929.14(C)(4) were not supported by the record and (2) the court imposed discretionary fees without finding his ability to pay.
The Sixth District reviewed the consecutive-sentence findings under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2) and considered which costs are mandatory versus conditioned on ability to pay.

Issue	State's Argument	Gessel's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court made the statutory findings required to impose consecutive sentences under R.C. 2929.14(C)(4)	Trial court engaged in proper analysis and its statements show consideration of public danger and proportionality	Trial court failed to make all required findings (in particular, that offenses were part of one or more courses of conduct)	Reversed and remanded for resentencing: court failed to make the (C)(4)(b) courses-of-conduct finding at sentencing, so consecutive sentences are contrary to law unless properly found on remand
Whether the trial court permissibly imposed court-appointed counsel costs and supervision fees without finding Gessel had ability to pay	Mandatory prosecution costs are proper; discretionary costs may be imposed only if defendant has or may reasonably be expected to have ability to pay	Trial court imposed discretionary costs without any finding or record evidence of ability to pay	Vacated the award of supervision costs and appointed-counsel fees for lack of an ability-to-pay finding; mandatory prosecution costs and R.C. 2929.18(A)(4) fees remain imposed

State v. Bonnell, 16 N.E.3d 659 (Ohio 2014) (trial court must make and record R.C. 2929.14(C)(4) findings; record must permit review)
State v. Beasley, 108 N.E.3d 1028 (Ohio 2018) (trial court must make the three statutory consecutive-sentence findings at sentencing and in the judgment entry)