State v. White (Slip Opinion), 130 N.E.3d 247

Gregory White was convicted after a bench trial of failure to maintain reasonable control (a minor misdemeanor) following a multi-car accident; the court also resolved a driving-under-suspension charge by plea.
For a minor misdemeanor, the trial court may impose financial sanctions (fine up to $150) or up to 30 hours of community service, but is required to assess court costs (costs are not part of the sentence).
The judgment entry for the failure-to-maintain-control conviction recorded the conviction and court costs, contained the phrase “STAY OF SENTENCE GRANTED PENDING APPEAL,” but did not impose a fine or community service or otherwise specify whether any sanction was waived.
White appealed; the First District dismissed the appeal for lack of a final, appealable order because the judgment did not state a sentence as required by Crim.R. 32(C) and State v. Lester.
The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed, holding that a judgment must set forth the fact of conviction and the sentence, and that if the court chooses not to impose a monetary or community-service sanction its decision must be clearly stated in the entry (no magic words required).

Issue	White's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether a judgment that omits any sentence for a minor misdemeanor is a final, appealable order	Omission of a fine does not make the judgment nonfinal; costs + conviction suffice	Judgment must show the court decided sentencing discretion; silence is ambiguous and not final	A judgment that fails to set forth a sentence is not a final, appealable order (affirmed dismissal)
Whether trial court may decline to impose a financial sanction or community service for a minor misdemeanor	R.C. 2929.28(A) makes fines discretionary, so a court can decline to impose a fine and thereby not punish beyond costs	Court: entry must explicitly reflect the exercise of discretion not to impose a sanction; clarity required but court may indicate waiver (e.g., “no fine”)	Majority: court may decline to impose monetary/community-service sanction but must clearly state that decision in the entry; omission is insufficient
Whether a trial court must impose a fine to create an appealable judgment for a minor misdemeanor	Requiring a fine would conflict with statute’s discretionary language and force courts to impose penalties contrary to discretion	State: not requiring a fine; court must simply make clear in the judgment how it exercised its discretion	Court rejected requirement to impose a fine; instead required explicit language if court waives or refuses sanctions

State v. Lester, 958 N.E.2d 142 (Ohio 2011) (judgment of conviction must set forth fact of conviction, sentence, judge’s signature, and journal entry time stamp to be final and appealable)
State v. Jackson, 87 N.E.3d 1227 (Ohio 2017) (a valid judgment of conviction is a final order when it complies with Lester)
State v. Threatt, 843 N.E.2d 164 (Ohio 2006) (court costs are not part of a criminal sentence)
State v. Anderson, 35 N.E.3d 512 (Ohio 2015) (courts lack inherent authority to impose or suspend sentences beyond statutory authorization)