State v. McNear, 2022 Ohio 2365

In December 2019, two days after his 15th birthday, D’Shaun McNear used a firearm to carjack an elderly woman and, the next day, carjacked another woman after a Target parking-lot encounter; he then led police on a high-speed chase.
During the chase he struck another vehicle and drove onto a sidewalk, killing a 13-year-old and severely injuring an 11-year-old; he fled the scene and was later arrested.
McNear was bound over to adult court and indicted in two separate Cuyahoga County cases with multiple counts (murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide/assault, aggravated robbery, failure to comply, weapons under disability, thefts), many with firearm specifications.
He pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to a set of amended counts across both cases, reserving a sentencing range of roughly 15–58 years; the trial court imposed an aggregate indefinite prison term of 26 to 31 years.
The sentencing journal entries contained clerical errors about the stated prison term, and the court — without announcing it at the sentencing hearing — imposed a lifetime class-two driver’s-license suspension via entry.
McNear appealed, raising four assignments of error: (1) Reagan Tokes sentencing law unconstitutional; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel; (3) improper consecutive sentences; (4) Crim.R. 43(A) violation because license suspension imposed by journal entry only.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (McNear)	Held
Constitutionality of Reagan Tokes Law	Law is constitutional; sentence lawful	Law unconstitutional per this court's earlier Daniel decision	Overruled McNear; en banc Delvallie controls and upholds Reagan Tokes
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel objected; even if not, no prejudice because law constitutional	Counsel failed to properly raise constitutional challenge to Reagan Tokes	Overruled; counsel objected and no prejudice shown
Consecutive sentences	Court made and journalized required R.C. 2929.14(C)(4) findings; juvenile history and conduct support consecutives	Record does not clearly and convincingly support consecutive findings	Overruled; findings supported by record and incorporated into entry
Crim.R. 43(A) / license suspension imposed by entry	No prejudice; outcome same if pronounced at hearing	Lifetime class-two suspension was not pronounced at sentencing; defendant absent when imposed	Sustained in part: lifetime class-two suspension vacated; remanded for resentencing limited to license suspension and correction of journal entries

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (establishes two-prong ineffective-assistance standard)
State v. Trimble, 122 Ohio St.3d 297, 911 N.E.2d 242 (Ohio 2009) (applies Strickland standard in Ohio)
State v. Delvallie, 185 N.E.3d 536 (8th Dist. 2022) (en banc upholding Reagan Tokes Law for this district)
State v. Bonnell, 16 N.E.3d 659 (Ohio 2014) (trial court must note consideration of statutory criteria and incorporate findings in entry for consecutive sentences)
State v. Edmonson, 715 N.E.2d 131 (Ohio 1999) (trial court’s sentencing duties and required analysis)
State v. Marcum, 59 N.E.3d 1231 (Ohio 2016) (standard of appellate review for felony sentences under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2))
State v. Hand, 73 N.E.3d 448 (Ohio 2016) (juvenile adjudications may be considered in adult sentencing for history)
State ex rel. Cruzado v. Zaleski, 856 N.E.2d 263 (Ohio 2006) (clerical errors in journal entries may be corrected nunc pro tunc)
State v. Miller, 940 N.E.2d 924 (Ohio 2010) (Crim.R.36 authority to correct clerical sentencing errors)