Routes to the court of appeals
A defendant appeals a judgment of conviction by filing a notice of appeal within 30 days of entry under App.R. 4(A)(1). A felony sentence may also be challenged on the grounds listed in R.C. 2953.08(A). The state's rights are narrower. Under R.C. 2945.67(A), the prosecution may appeal as of right a decision granting a motion to dismiss all or part of an indictment, complaint, or information, a motion to suppress, or a motion for return of seized property, or granting postconviction relief, and may seek leave to appeal other decisions, "except the final verdict." An appeal by the prosecution under Crim.R. 12(K) must be filed within seven days. App.R. 4(B)(4).
Sufficiency and manifest weight are different claims
State v. Thompkins remains the foundation: "The legal concepts of sufficiency of the evidence and weight of the evidence are both quantitatively and qualitatively different." 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997), paragraph two of the syllabus. Sufficiency "is a test of adequacy," and whether the evidence is legally sufficient "is a question of law." Id. at 386. Weight review asks whether the jury clearly lost its way and created a manifest miscarriage of justice. The consequences differ. As Thompkins explained, applying federal double jeopardy precedent, a reversal for insufficient evidence bars retrial, while a weight reversal does not. And a jury verdict may be reversed on the weight of the evidence only by all three judges, while a sufficiency reversal needs a majority. Id., paragraphs three and four of the syllabus; Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 3(B)(3).
Felony sentencing review under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2)
The statute is explicit: "The appellate court's standard for review is not whether the sentencing court abused its discretion." R.C. 2953.08(G)(2). The court may modify or vacate only if it clearly and convincingly finds that the record does not support specified statutory findings or that the sentence is otherwise contrary to law. In State v. Marcum, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that "an appellate court may vacate or modify a felony sentence on appeal only if it determines by clear and convincing evidence that the record does not support the trial court's findings under relevant statutes or that the sentence is otherwise contrary to law," 2016-Ohio-1002, ¶ 1, and that appellate courts "may not apply the abuse-of-discretion standard in sentencing-term challenges." Id. at ¶ 10. Read Marcum with State v. Jones, 2020-Ohio-6729, which called the further discussion at ¶ 23 of Marcum dicta (¶ 27) and held that "[n]othing in R.C. 2953.08(G)(2) permits an appellate court to independently weigh the evidence in the record and substitute its judgment for that of the trial court concerning the sentence that best reflects compliance with R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12." (¶ 42) Sentencing arguments should be built around the findings the statute names and around concrete legal defects in the sentence.
Forfeiture and plain error
An issue forfeited by not raising it in the trial court can be reviewed only for plain error under Crim.R. 52(B), and that review is discretionary; an intentional waiver generally forecloses review altogether. In State v. Rogers, the court held that failure to raise allied offenses at sentencing "forfeits all but plain error" and that the accused must show "a reasonable probability that the error resulted in prejudice." 2015-Ohio-2459, ¶ 3, 22. Objections at trial and at sentencing are what keep the ordinary standards available. See preservation and plain error.
Practice pointers
- Plead sufficiency and weight separately, with the remedy each one supports.
- Make the sentencing record. Object to findings, raise merger, and put mitigation on the record at the hearing.
- Match the sentencing argument to the statute. Frame it under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2), not abuse of discretion.
- Watch the state's short clock on Crim.R. 12(K) appeals. For further review, see Supreme Court of Ohio practice.
Recent analysis
Preindictment Delay in Ohio After State v. Wilson: Luck Overruled (2026)
State v. Wilson, 2026-Ohio-3988
The Supreme Court of Ohio overruled State v. Luck and its progeny and adopted the United States Supreme Court's test: a defendant seeking dismissal for preindictment delay must prove both actual prejudice (missing evidence that would be favorable, material, and noncumulative) and that the delay was an intentional device to gain a tactical advantage for the State. The burden no longer shifts to the State to justify the delay, and a motion built on conclusory or speculative claims of lost evidence fails on the first prong.
Ohio Plain Error Requires Clear Current Law: State v. Bradley (2026)
State v. Bradley, 2026-Ohio-3771
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that an error is not plain under Crim.R. 52(B) unless it is clear under current law, and that the appellant must show the outcome would have been different, not that it may have been. An unrequested transferred self-defense instruction failed both tests, so the Seventh District's reversal was itself reversed.
Crim.R. 11 Plea Appeals in Ohio: Fontanez and the Prejudice Burden
State v. Fontanez, 2026-Ohio-3281
A trial court's failure to tell a defendant that a guilty plea is a complete admission of guilt is not a complete failure to comply with Crim.R. 11 when the court otherwise complies with the rule, the admission of guilt is obvious from the context of the plea colloquy, and the defendant does not assert actual innocence. Appeals built on that omission now turn on whether the defendant can prove prejudice under the third Dangler prong.
Ohio App.R. 5(A): Crime Victims Cannot Seek a Delayed Appeal
State v. Barnes, 2026-Ohio-2750
A crime victim appealing the denial of restitution is bound by the 30-day deadline in App.R. 4(A), and App.R. 5(A) offers delayed appeals only to defendants. A victim who voluntarily dismissed a timely appeal could not revive it years later through constitutional arguments, and the court refused to rewrite the rule by decision.
Published for Ohio attorneys; not legal advice. Rules and statutes change, so confirm current text before relying on it.