Ohio Supreme Court June 9, 2004, Nos. 2003-0083 and 2003-0319 (State v. Evans)

lead-opinion

O’Connor, J.

{¶ 1} The Court of Appeals for Franklin County has certified the issue before us as follows: “If a trial court properly imposes the maximum sentence on a first-time offender pursuant to the requirements in R.C. 2929.14(C), does the ‘except as provided in division (C)’ language contained in R.C. 2929.14(B) relieve the court from the requirements under R.C. 2929.