If no lawyer is listed, call 918-582-6422 and MoreLaw will help you find a lawyer for free.

Description: Cleveland, Ohio criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with "two counts of first-degree felony drug trafficking, two counts of first-degree felony drug possession, and one count of fifth-degree felony drug possession."


{¶ 1} Appellant, the state of Ohio (the "state"), appeals the trial court's decision not to impose an indefinite sentence upon defendant-appellee, James Dowdell, III ("Dowdell"). For the reasons set forth below, we reverse Dowdell's
sentence and remand to the trial court for resentencing in accordance with the Reagan Tokes Law.
State v. Dowdell, 2022 Ohio 2956 (Ohio App. 2022)

{¶ 2} In May 2021, a grand jury returned a multicount indictment against Dowdell, which included two counts of first-degree felony drug trafficking, two counts of first-degree felony drug possession, and one count of fifth-degree felony drug possession. The grand jury also indicted Dowdell on one count each of possession of criminal tools, having weapons while under disability, and endangering children. All the first-degree felonies and the fifth-degree felony were accompanied by one-year firearm specification, major drug offender specification, forfeiture of a gun in a drug case, forfeiture of a scale in a drug case, forfeiture of money in a drug case, and forfeiture of a cell phone in a drug case, as well as a juvenile specification for allegedly committing the offenses within 100 feet of a juvenile.

{¶ 3} On October 14, 2021, pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Dowdell pled guilty to one count of first-degree felony drug trafficking, as amended in Count 3 to delete the major drug offender and juvenile specifications, but with the remaining specifications in place.[1] In addition, the state recommended that the trial court impose an agreed six-year prison sentence.

{¶ 4} Relevant to this appeal, prior to accepting Dowdell's plea, the trial court stated:

[D]o you understand that the offense to which you will be pleading is a felony of the first degree that carries with it - - and this Court, by the way, would note that on a prior occasion, * * * this Court has found the provision, the minimum indefinite provisions of Senate Bill 201, Reagan Tokes Law, to be unconstitutional. So, the sentence that I could impose would be three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten or eleven years for the underlying felony of the first degree.

{¶ 5} After accepting Dowdell's guilty plea, the trial court immediately proceeded to sentencing and imposed a prison sentence of six years. The sentence included the mandatory one-year firearm specification that was required to be served prior to and consecutive to the five years on the base charge of drug trafficking. The trial court's journal entry indicated that it had determined that the minimum indefinite terms of S.B. 201 was unconstitutional.

Outcome: {¶ 18} For these reasons and under the limited circumstances of this case, I would affirm the judgment of the trial court and uphold the sentence that was imposed.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: