State v. Nelson, 2014 Ohio 5285

Nelson was convicted in 1987, after a jury trial, of kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl, receiving consecutive 15-to-25-year sentences.
He also has prior 1978 rape and kidnapping convictions arising from guilty pleas involving a 13-year-old victim.
In February 2014, the State moved for a Megan’s Law sexual classification hearing.
A court psychiatric clinic evaluation produced a classification report, noting an outdated Static-99 score and a current moderate-to-high risk of future sexually oriented offenses.
On March 18, 2014, the trial court held the classification hearing and classified Nelson as a sexual predator, citing prior offenses, violence, and risk assessment.
Nelson appealed arguing the court erred in labeling him a sexual predator; the appellate court affirmed, reviewing under the civil manifest-weight standard.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the classification as sexual predator was proper	Nelson argues misclassification; predator designation not supported.	State asserts clear and convincing evidence supports predator classification.	Classification affirmed; evidence supported predator designation.

State v. Eppinger, 91 Ohio St.3d 158 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2001) (establishes burden for predator designation (clear and convincing evidence))
State v. Bidinost, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 100466, 2014-Ohio-3136 (2014) (civil manifest-weight standard for sex-offender classifications)
State v. Wilson, 113 Ohio St.3d 382, 2007-Ohio-2202 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2007) (separate civil nature of sex-offender determinations)
State v. Caraballo, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 89757, 2008-Ohio-2046 (2008) (courts need not enumerate every statutory factor if evidence supports decision)
State v. Ferguson, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 88450, 2007-Ohio-2777 (2007) (evidence-based approach to predator determinations)