State v. Neal, 2019 Ohio 2277

In March 2017 Joshua Neal pled guilty to one count of aggravated possession of drugs (a fifth-degree felony) after fentanyl was found following a car collision.
The trial court sentenced Neal to four years of community control with a condition to complete a drug treatment program and warned that a violation could result in up to 12 months in prison.
Neal violated community control three times; after the first two violations the court continued community control and moved Neal between treatment facilities.
For the third violation Neal admitted he prematurely left the residential treatment facility (and had other failures to report), and the probation officer filed an affidavit of violation.
At the revocation/sentencing hearing the trial court revoked community control and imposed a 12‑month prison term, finding the violation was not a “technical violation” and therefore not subject to the 90‑day limitation in R.C. 2929.15(B)(1)(c)(i).
Neal appealed, arguing the court erred in treating his conduct as a non‑technical violation; the appellate court affirmed.

Issue	Neal's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether R.C. 2929.15(B)(1)(c)(i)'s 90‑day limitation applies because the violation was a "technical violation"	The term "technical violation" should encompass any violation that is not itself a new criminal offense; Neal contends his leaving treatment was non‑criminal and therefore technical	The leaving of a court‑ordered drug treatment program violated a substantive rehabilitative condition (not merely administrative), and Neal also absconded from supervision, so the 90‑day limitation does not apply	Court held the violation was not "technical" because leaving the program breached a substantive rehabilitative condition and involved absconding; 12‑month sentence affirmed