State v. Henderson, 2023 Ohio 4576

Mark Henderson was indicted for felonious assault but pleaded no contest to the lesser offense of attempted felonious assault, a third-degree felony, for striking the victim with a tire iron.
At sentencing, defense counsel requested community control (probation), citing Henderson’s employment prospects; the trial court focused on his criminal history and lack of remorse.
The trial court sentenced Henderson to 24 months in prison and subsequently imposed mandatory and discretionary costs (prosecution, supervision/confinement, and court-appointed counsel) in the written judgment entry, without discussing these costs at the sentencing hearing.
Henderson appealed, challenging the imposition of all costs except the mandatory costs of prosecution, arguing there was no finding of his ability to pay and the costs were not addressed at sentencing.
The only issue on appeal was whether the trial court lawfully imposed discretionary costs without first addressing them at the sentencing hearing and making the necessary findings regarding Henderson’s ability to pay.

Issue	Henderson's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Imposition of discretionary costs (confinement, court-appointed counsel) without ability-to-pay finding at hearing	Trial court erred by imposing these costs in the written entry without discussing them or ability to pay at sentencing	Trial court could impose costs in the entry; ability to pay shown in presentence report or costs could be considered mandatory	Imposition of discretionary costs without addressing them at sentencing was error; those costs vacated
Whether court-appointed counsel fees are part of mandatory prosecution costs	Not part of mandatory prosecution costs; require separate ability-to-pay finding	Counsel fees are part of the costs of prosecution	Counsel fees are not part of costs of prosecution; require separate analysis
Waiver of right to challenge discretionary costs by not objecting to presentence report	No knowing waiver because costs not discussed at hearing	Failure to object to presentence report is waiver	No waiver because costs not addressed at hearing

State v. Taylor, 163 Ohio St.3d 508 (costs of court-appointed counsel are not prosecution costs and require a separate ability-to-pay finding)
State v. Wymer, 2019-Ohio-1563 (trial court must address discretionary costs and ability to pay at sentencing, not just in judgment entry)
State v. Braden, 158 Ohio St.3d 462 (mandatory prosecution costs must be imposed but may be waived later)