State v. Weddington, 2015 Ohio 5249

Weddington was originally tried by a jury (representing herself after discharging appointed counsel) and convicted of robbery, aggravated vehicular assault, and failure to comply; sentence imposed and costs assessed.
This court reversed those convictions and remanded, holding the trial court failed to ensure a valid waiver of the right to counsel.
On remand the trial court found Weddington indigent, appointed counsel, and she pled guilty to two counts in exchange for dismissal of others; court again sentenced her and assessed court costs.
The itemized costs assessed after the plea included over $7,000, which encompassed costs from the original (reversed) jury trial.
Weddington appealed the assessment of costs and alleged ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to move to waive costs at sentencing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether court may assess prosecution costs from the first (reversed) trial	Weddington: assessing costs from the original trial (which was reversed) denies due process; costs should be limited to post-remand proceedings	State: statutory rule requires assessment of costs against defendants; court imposed costs after final conviction on remand	Court: Reverse — costs tied to the first, unsuccessful prosecution may not be assessed; costs only from remand to final disposition may be imposed
Whether counsel was ineffective for not moving to waive costs at sentencing	Weddington: counsel performed deficiently and prejudiced her by failing to move to waive costs at sentencing, waiving the issue	State: amended R.C. 2947.23(C) allows waiver motions at any time after sentencing, so any failure to move then is not necessarily prejudicial	Court: Overrule — even assuming deficient performance, no prejudice because statute permits later motion to waive costs

State v. White, 817 N.E.2d 393 (Ohio 2004) (statute requires judge to include costs of prosecution in sentence)
State v. Powers, 690 N.E.2d 32 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997) (costs may be assessed only if prosecution is successful)
State v. Clevenger, 871 N.E.2d 589 (Ohio 2007) (trial courts must assess costs but may waive payment if defendant moves)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-part ineffective-assistance test: deficient performance and prejudice)
State v. Bradley, 538 N.E.2d 373 (Ohio 1989) (discusses prejudice prong and standard for ineffective assistance)