State v. Maston, 2021 Ohio 1975

On Feb. 18, 2020, William Maston forcibly entered his girlfriend Hannah Tincher’s home, pushed her, grabbed keys, and left; security video supported Tincher’s account.
Maston was charged with one count of attempted breaking and entering (first‑degree misdemeanor) and entered a knowing, voluntary guilty plea after a full Crim.R. 11 colloquy.
A presentence investigation was prepared; at sentencing the court imposed a suspended 180‑day jail term and up to five years of community control.
Conditions included $275 restitution, court costs, $250 supervision fee, and $130 toward the assigned counsel budget; the court found Maston had present and future ability to pay.
Maston appealed, raising three assignments: (1) denial of allocution, (2) error in imposing community control and certain conditions, and (3) improper assessment of court‑appointed counsel fees.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Maston was denied his right to allocution at sentencing	State: Court expressly invited Maston to speak; he was allowed to address court and counsel mitigated on his behalf	Maston: Court cut him off repeatedly, preventing full mitigation statement	Court: No deprivation of allocution; defendant spoke and was not prejudiced; assignment overruled
Whether the trial court erred by imposing five years of community control and specific conditions	State: Sentence was authorized by R.C. 2929.25 and within discretion; misdemeanor sentencing need not recite felony statutes; factors were considered	Maston: Court improperly relied on felony sentencing statutes and imposed overly broad, unrelated conditions (e.g., domestic‑violence supervision)	Court: No abuse of discretion; community control and conditions reasonably related to rehabilitation and the offense; assignment overruled
Whether the assessment of $130 in appointed‑counsel fees as part of the sentence was proper	State: Conceded error under State v. Taylor and asked the fee order be vacated or remanded for separate civil assessment	Maston: Fees improperly included in criminal sentence and must be vacated	Court: Sustained error; vacated the portion ordering payment of $130 to assigned counsel budget

State v. Green, 90 Ohio St.3d 352, 738 N.E.2d 1208 (allocution is more than an empty ritual; defendant has final opportunity to speak)
State v. Campbell, 90 Ohio St.3d 320, 738 N.E.2d 1178 (resentencing required when court imposes sentence without first asking defendant to allocute unless harmless or invited error)
State v. Jones, 49 Ohio St.3d 51, 550 N.E.2d 469 (probation/community‑control conditions must relate to rehabilitation, the crime, and future criminality)