State v. Jackson (Slip Opinion), 2017 Ohio 7469

Andrew L. Jackson was indicted on two kidnapping counts, two aggravated-robbery counts, and one grand-theft count; firearm and forfeiture specifications were also alleged.
At trial the jury convicted Jackson of grand theft and aggravated robbery, acquitted him of firearm specifications, and deadlocked on the kidnapping counts; Jackson stipulated to forfeiture of the handgun.
The trial court declared a mistrial on the kidnapping counts, and the state orally moved to dismiss those counts; the court granted the unopposed motion and entered a judgment that also merged one grand-theft count with an aggravated-robbery count and sentenced Jackson to concurrent six-year terms on the aggravated-robbery convictions.
Jackson appealed; the Eighth District sua sponte dismissed the appeal for lack of a final, appealable order, concluding the dismissals of kidnapping without prejudice left unresolved rights.
The State sought review in the Ohio Supreme Court arguing that any dismissal of a count resolves that count for purposes of finality under Crim.R. 32(C); the Court accepted jurisdiction on that question.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a dismissal without prejudice of one or more counts in a multicount indictment prevents a judgment of conviction on the remaining counts from being final and appealable	State: Any dismissal of a count (with or without prejudice) terminates prosecution on that count under Crim.R. 48(A); dismissed counts are resolved and do not defeat finality if the judgment complies with Crim.R. 32(C) and Lester	Jackson/Eighth Dist.: Dismissal without prejudice is not a final determination of rights, so a judgment of conviction that leaves such counts pending is not final and appealable; counts must be dismissed with prejudice or retried	The Ohio Supreme Court held that dismissed counts (even without prejudice) are resolved for purposes of finality; a judgment of conviction is final and appealable if it satisfies Crim.R. 32(C) and Lester, and dismissed counts do not prevent appeal.

State v. Craig, 116 Ohio St.3d 135 (2007) (Crim.R. 48 dismissal terminates prosecution; dismissals are treated the same whether labeled with or without prejudice)
State v. Baker, 119 Ohio St.3d 197 (2008) (judgment of conviction qualifies as final under R.C. 2505.02(B))
State ex rel. Davis v. Cuyahoga Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 127 Ohio St.3d 29 (2010) (dismissed or nolled counts need not be reiterated in a valid judgment entry)
State ex rel. Rose v. McGinty, 128 Ohio St.3d 371 (2011) (same principle that resolved counts do not prevent final judgment)
State v. Lester, 130 Ohio St.3d 303 (2011) (a conviction entry is final when it states the fact of conviction, the sentence, the judge’s signature, and the clerk’s journal stamp)