When people are convicted or plead guilty to a crime, their sentence may include some kind of supervised release. That may replace incarceration if the offense isn’t especially serious or they aren’t considered a threat to the community. Or, that release may follow a period of incarceration.
Typically, with any type of supervised release like probation, which is called “community control” in Ohio, there are conditions or terms that a person must adhere to. Do they have to be related to the crime?
The case before the Supreme Court of Ohio
That was the question before the Supreme Court of Ohio earlier this year. Specifically, as part of her sentence for misdemeanor theft, a court placed a Geauga County woman on community control for one year. Among the conditions placed on her was not using alcohol or drugs or even entering a bar and that she must submit to random alcohol and drug testing.
When she objected, an appeals court repealed the alcohol- and drug-related restrictions on the grounds that her offense didn’t involve these substances. That’s how the case ended up before the high court.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the original trial court’s sentence on the basis that the state sentencing law allows the monitoring of alcohol and drug use as a condition of community control regardless of the offense.
The high court also agreed with the trial court’s assessment that these terms of community control were allowable since they were related to “conduct which is criminal or reasonably related to future criminality…” as established under a prior Supreme Court case because the woman had a history of DUI.
The high court opinion noted that while trial courts have discretion in establishing the terms of community control, those conditions cannot be “unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable.”
What if the conditions are unfair?
When someone is sentenced to community control or any other kind of supervised release, it is crucial to understand and follow the terms established by the court. Not following them can worsen a person’s legal issues and land them behind bars.
Anyone who believes the terms they are required to follow are “unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable” has a right to challenge them. Having experienced guidance to do this can be valuable, given all that is at stake.