The opinion
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State
v. Turner, Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-1996.]
NOTICE
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an
advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to
promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65
South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other
formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before
the opinion is published.
SLIP OPINION NO. 2026-OHIO-1996
THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLANT, v. TURNER, APPELLEE.
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it
may be cited as State v. Turner, Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-1996.]
Criminal law—Juvenile law—When a juvenile court transfers a case to the adult
court under mandatory- or discretionary-bindover procedures, it transfers
the entire case, including all acts charged in the juvenile complaint; the
juvenile court’s jurisdiction over the case abates; and the adult court has
jurisdiction over the case as though it had been initiated in that court,
extending not only to offenses charged in the juvenile complaint but to any
offense for which the grand jury issues an indictment—State v. Smith
overruled—Court of appeals’ judgment reversed, convictions reinstated,
and cause remanded to court of appeals for consideration of previously
unaddressed assignments of error.
(No. 2024-1242—Submitted June 3, 2025—Decided June 3, 2026.)
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County,
No. 111808, 2023-Ohio-2874.
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
__________________
DETERS, J., authored the opinion of the court, which KENNEDY, C.J., and
DEWINE, HAWKINS, and SHANAHAN, JJ., joined. FISCHER, J., dissented, with an
opinion. BRUNNER, J., dissented, with an opinion.
DETERS, J.
{¶ 1} The juvenile division of the common pleas courts has exclusive
jurisdiction over cases in which a juvenile is alleged to have committed an offense
that would be a crime if committed by an adult. But under certain circumstances,
upon finding probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed a serious
offense, the juvenile court is required to transfer jurisdiction of the case to the adult
court. The adult court then treats the case as though it had started in adult court.
This appeal asks whether a person initially charged in juvenile court can be
convicted in adult court of offenses for which the juvenile court found there was no
probable cause or offenses that were not charged in the juvenile complaint.
{¶ 2} Tavonte Turner was charged with five offenses related to the death of
Joseph Owens. The Juvenile Division of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common
Pleas found probable cause to believe that Turner had committed aggravated
murder and other offenses, but it determined that there was no probable cause to
believe that Turner had had a weapon while under a disability. The juvenile court
transferred the case to the adult court. There, Turner pleaded guilty to murder (an
offense for which the juvenile court had found probable cause), having a weapon
while under a disability (an offense for which the juvenile court had determined
that there was no probable cause), and attempted murder (an offense that had not
been charged in the juvenile complaint).
{¶ 3} Turner appealed to the Eighth District Court of Appeals, which
reversed his convictions for attempted murder and having a weapon while under a
disability. 2023-Ohio-2874, ¶ 1 (8th Dist.). In doing so, the court of appeals relied
2
January Term, 2026
on this court’s decisions in State v. Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, and State v. Burns, 2022-
Ohio-4606. In Smith, this court held that when a case is transferred from juvenile
court to adult court, the adult court has jurisdiction over only the offenses for which
probable cause was found in the juvenile court or the offenses that are rooted in the
offenses that were charged in the juvenile complaint. Smith at ¶ 44. For the reasons
explained below, we conclude that Smith was wrongly decided by this court. We
therefore overrule Smith, and to the extent that this court applied its holding in Smith
to its decision in Burns, we overrule it as well. We accordingly reverse the
judgment of the Eighth District and reinstate Turner’s convictions for attempted
murder and having a weapon while under a disability.
I. BACKGROUND
A. The Juvenile-Court Proceedings
{¶ 4} In September 2020, a person later identified as Turner shot and killed
Joseph Owens. Turner was charged in the Juvenile Division of the Cuyahoga
County Common Pleas Court with five counts: aggravated murder with two firearm
specifications, murder with two firearm specifications, felonious assault with two
firearm specifications, having a weapon while under a disability, and improperly
handling a firearm in a motor vehicle. Because Turner was 16 years old when the
charged offenses were committed, he was subject to mandatory bindover to the
adult court if the juvenile court found that there was probable cause to believe that
Turner had committed the offenses. See R.C. 2152.12(A)(1)(a)(i).
{¶ 5} The juvenile-court judge conducted a probable-cause hearing, during
which the State called several witnesses and played residential-security-camera
video of the shooting. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge found that there
was probable cause to believe that Turner had committed aggravated murder,
murder, felonious assault, and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle
and that Turner had had a firearm and displayed, brandished, or used it to facilitate
those offenses. However, the judge determined that no evidence had been
3
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
presented to support a probable-cause finding regarding the having-a-weapon-
while-under-a-disability count. The judge ordered that the matter be transferred to
the adult court.
B. The Adult-Court Proceedings
{¶ 6} After the case was transferred to the adult court, the grand jury
indicted Turner on the same five counts with which he had been charged in the
juvenile court, plus seven other counts:1
Charged in the juvenile
Count Offense
complaint?
No. 1 Aggravated murder, in violation of Yes
R.C. 2903.01(A), with two firearm
specifications
No. 2 Murder, in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B), Yes
with two firearm specifications
No. 3 Felonious assault, in violation of Yes
R.C. 2903.11(A)(1), with two firearm
specifications
No. 4 Discharge of a firearm on or near No
prohibited premises, in violation of
R.C. 2923.162(A)(3), with two firearm
specifications
1. Turner was indicted with three codefendants. The counts listed here are for the offenses with
which Turner was charged.
4
January Term, 2026
No. 5 Attempted murder, in violation of No
R.C. 2923.02/2903.02(A), with two
firearm specifications
No. 6 Felonious assault, in violation of No
R.C. 2903.11(A)(2), with two firearm
specifications
No. 7 Discharge of a firearm on or near No
prohibited premises, in violation of
R.C. 2923.162(A)(3), with two firearm
specifications
No. 10 Improperly handling a firearm in a motor Yes
vehicle, in violation of R.C. 2923.16(B)
No. 12 Having a weapon while under a disability, Yes
in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2)
No. 13 Having a weapon while under a disability, No
in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(1)
No. 14 Having a weapon while under a disability, No
in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2)
No. 15 Improperly handling a firearm in a motor No
vehicle, in violation of R.C. 2923.16(B)
{¶ 7} Count Nos. 5 and 6 (attempted murder and felonious assault) were
related to a second victim that Turner was seen firing at on the residential-security-
camera video.
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SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
{¶ 8} Turner pleaded guilty to Count No. 2 (murder) with a three-year
firearm specification, Count No. 5 (attempted murder) with no firearm
specification, and Count No. 12 (having a weapon while under a disability). The
remaining counts were dismissed by the State. The trial court sentenced Turner as
follows: for Count No. 2—25 years to life in prison, with a 3-year term for the
firearm specification to be served prior to and consecutively to the base-charge
sentence; for Count No. 5—7 years in prison to be served consecutively to the
sentence for Count No. 2; and for Count No. 12—36 months in prison to be served
concurrently with the other sentences.
C. The Court-of-Appeals Proceedings
{¶ 9} Turner appealed his convictions to the Eighth District. In addition to
challenging various aspects of the sentences imposed by the trial court, Turner
asserted that the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to convict him of
attempted murder and having a weapon while under a disability because the
juvenile court had not found probable cause to believe that he had committed either
offense. The court of appeals concluded that the trial court erred when it sentenced
Turner to 25 years to life on Count No. 2, 2023-Ohio-2874 at ¶ 3, 7-8 (8th Dist.),
and, relevant here, that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to convict Turner of
attempted murder and having a weapon while under a disability, id. at ¶ 13, 22, thus
rendering three of Turner’s assignments of error regarding the sentences imposed
for Count Nos. 5 and 12 moot, id. at ¶ 6.
{¶ 10} The Eighth District’s conclusions regarding the adult court’s
subject-matter jurisdiction were largely grounded in this court’s decisions in Smith,
2022-Ohio-274, and Burns, 2022-Ohio-4606, which applied Smith’s reasoning.
First, regarding the having-a-weapon-while-under-a-disability count, the court of
appeals pointed to this court’s holding in Smith that “‘[i]n the absence of a juvenile
court’s finding probable cause or making a finding that the child is unamenable to
care or rehabilitation within the juvenile system, no adult court has jurisdiction over
6
January Term, 2026
acts that were charged in but not bound over by the juvenile court.’” 2023-Ohio-
2874 at ¶ 10 (8th Dist.), quoting Smith at ¶ 44. The Eighth District reasoned that
because the juvenile court had determined that there was not probable cause to
believe that Turner had committed the having-a-weapon-while-under-a disability
offense, the adult court did not have jurisdiction over that offense. Id. at ¶ 12-13.
{¶ 11} Turning to the attempted-murder count, the court of appeals pointed
to this court’s discussion in Burns of acts that were not the subject of a juvenile
complaint. In Burns, this court stated that “a case transferred from a juvenile court
may result in new indicted charges in the adult court when the new charges are
rooted in the acts that were the subject of the juvenile complaint but were not
specifically named in the individual acts transferred.” Burns at ¶ 13. Applying this
language to Turner’s appeal, the Eighth District concluded that the attempted-
murder offense, even though it occurred at the same time as the murder, was distinct
from the murder and thus not “‘rooted in the acts’” that were the subject of the
juvenile complaint. 2023-Ohio-2874 at ¶ 21-22 (8th Dist.). The court of appeals
therefore vacated Turner’s convictions for attempted murder and having a weapon
while under a disability. Id. at ¶ 13, 22, 25.
{¶ 12} We accepted the State’s appeal on three propositions of law:
[1.] The jurisdiction referenced in R.C. 2151.23(H)
implicates jurisdiction over the case, not subject-matter jurisdiction.
[2.] In juvenile bindover cases, guilty pleas in criminal court
waive claims arising out of the underlying bindover hearing because
a grand jury determination superseded the juvenile court’s probable
cause finding.
[3.] The General Division had jurisdiction over the case after
it was transferred by the Juvenile Division to “hear and determine”
the case as if the case had originated in the adult court under
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SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
R.C. 2151.23(H) which included the authority to accept a plea or
verdict for the offense that was the basis of transfer, for an offense
of [the] same or lesser degree than that charged, for the commission
of a lesser-included offense, or for the commission of another
offense that is different from the offense charged.
See 2023-Ohio-4640.
II. ANALYSIS
A. Turner’s Case Is Easily Resolved under the Juvenile Statutory Scheme
{¶ 13} Juvenile courts have jurisdiction over a child who is alleged to be
delinquent. R.C. 2151.23. In certain situations, a juvenile may be subject to
discretionary or mandatory bindover to the adult common pleas court. See R.C.
2152.12(A) and (B).
{¶ 14} We turn our attention to mandatory bindover, which is the relevant
procedure here for transferring a juvenile-court case to the adult court:
After a complaint has been filed alleging that a child is a
delinquent child for committing an act that would be aggravated
murder . . . if committed by an adult, the juvenile court at a hearing
shall transfer the case if . . . [t]he child was sixteen or seventeen
years of age at the time of the act charged and there is probable cause
to believe that the child committed the act charged.
R.C. 2152.12(A)(1)(a)(i).
{¶ 15} Once the juvenile court has transferred the case, “[t]he transfer
abates the jurisdiction of the juvenile court with respect to the delinquent acts
alleged in the complaint, and, upon the transfer, all further proceedings pertaining
to the act charged shall be discontinued in the juvenile court, and the case then shall
8
January Term, 2026
be within the jurisdiction of the court to which it is transferred as described in
[R.C. 2151.23(H)].” R.C. 2152.12(I).2
{¶ 16} How the case proceeds after transfer to the adult court is addressed
in R.C. 2151.23(H):
The court to which the case is transferred for criminal prosecution
pursuant to [R.C. 2152.12] has jurisdiction subsequent to the
transfer to hear and determine the case in the same manner as if the
case originally had been commenced in that court, . . . including, but
not limited to, jurisdiction to accept a plea of guilty or another plea
authorized by Criminal Rule 11 or another section of the Revised
Code and jurisdiction to accept a verdict and to enter a judgment of
conviction pursuant to the Rules of Criminal Procedure against the
child for the commission of the offense that was the basis of the
transfer of the case for criminal prosecution, whether the conviction
is for the same degree or a lesser degree of the offense charged, for
the commission of a lesser-included offense, or for the commission
of another offense that is different from the offense charged.
{¶ 17} Applying the plain language of the relevant statutes, resolution of
this case is straightforward. When Turner was 16 years old, he was charged with
an act that would be aggravated murder if it had been committed by an adult. The
juvenile court found that there was probable cause to believe that Turner had
committed aggravated murder, so the juvenile court was required to transfer the
case to the adult court. Once the case was transferred, the juvenile court’s
2. R.C. 2152.12(I) was amended effective April 4, 2023, see 2022 Am.Sub.S.B. No. 288, but we
apply the law that was in effect when the offenses were committed, see 2016 Sub.H.B. No. 158
(effective Oct. 12, 2016).
9
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
jurisdiction abated as to all the acts alleged in the juvenile complaint—that is,
aggravated murder with two firearm specifications, murder with two firearm
specifications, felonious assault with two firearm specifications, having a weapon
while under a disability, and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.
{¶ 18} When the case was transferred to the adult court, the grand jury
indicted Turner on the same five counts with which he had been charged in the
juvenile court, along with seven other counts. After Turner’s indictment, the adult
court “hear[d] and determine[d] the case in the same manner as if the case originally
had been commenced in that court,” R.C. 2151.23(H), accepted Turner’s guilty
pleas, and sentenced him accordingly. The matter was resolved as prescribed by
the statutory scheme.
{¶ 19} Given the plain language of the statutes, how did the Eighth District
go astray in concluding that the adult court did not have jurisdiction over either the
attempted-murder or the having-a-weapon-while-under-a-disability counts? The
answer lies in this court’s erroneous decision in Smith.
B. This Court Got It Wrong in Smith
{¶ 20} In Smith, this court considered “[w]hat specifically transfers when a
juvenile court exercises its discretion and binds over a juvenile . . . to an adult court
pursuant to R.C. 2152.12.” 2022-Ohio-274 at ¶ 24. Police charged Smith with
eight offenses, but the juvenile court found probable cause to believe that Smith
had committed only four of them. Id. at ¶ 9-11. After the case was transferred to
the adult court, the grand jury indicted Smith for the eight offenses with which he
had been charged in the juvenile court, plus an additional escape charge. Id. at ¶ 12.
This court concluded that Smith could not be convicted in the adult court of the
offenses for which the juvenile court had not found probable cause. Id. at ¶ 2. As
discussed below, that conclusion was divorced from the language of the statutory
scheme and resulted from several missteps by the court.
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January Term, 2026
{¶ 21} First, the court in Smith reasoned that because “act” is defined in the
statutory scheme and “case” is not, id. at ¶ 27-28, the word “act” should be accorded
a greater “consequential . . . meaning,” id. at ¶ 29. The weakness of that logic is
readily apparent. Many statutes contain words that are not statutorily defined, yet
we accord them the same importance as those words that are statutorily defined.
For example, R.C. 2903.01(A) provides that “[n]o person shall purposely, and with
prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the unlawful termination
of another’s pregnancy.” “Purposely,” as used in R.C. 2903.01, is statutorily
defined, see R.C. 2901.22(A), but “death” is not. Yet no one would accord “death”
a less consequential meaning than “purposely” when interpreting the statute.
{¶ 22} Building on its faulty premise that the use of “act” in R.C. 2152.12
is more important than the use of “case,” the court in Smith reasoned that despite
the statutory scheme’s reference to the “transfer of the case,” not all the acts charged
in a juvenile complaint transfer to the adult court after determinations of probable
cause and amenability have been made. Smith at ¶ 28. Instead, this court held that
only certain acts—those for which probable cause was found—transfer. Id. at ¶ 29.
But as explained by the dissent in Smith, “case” has been treated as synonymous
with “action,” id. at ¶ 61 (Kennedy, J., dissenting), and “‘“action” has typically
been understood to refer to the entire legal proceeding, regardless of how many
claims or charges are included in the proceeding,’” id. at ¶ 62, quoting State v.
Craig, 2020-Ohio-455, ¶ 13. In light of the commonly understood meaning of
“case,” the General Assembly’s reference in R.C. 2152.12(I) and 2153.23 to the
transfer of the case clearly means that the entire case—i.e., all the acts charged in
the juvenile complaint—transfers to the adult court.3
3. In April 2023, the General Assembly enacted R.C. 2152.022, which, in the context of a case being
transferred from juvenile court to adult court, defines “case” as “all charges that are included in the
complaint or complaints containing the allegation that is the basis of the transfer under
[R.C. 2152.12(A)(1) or (B)] and for which the court found probable cause to believe that the child
committed the act charged, regardless of whether the complaint or complaints are filed under the
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SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
{¶ 23} In addition to incorrectly splitting off different acts from the case
that was transferred from the juvenile court to the adult court, the court in Smith
endeavored to explain the adult court’s jurisdiction with respect to counts for
offenses that had not been charged in the juvenile complaint. Undeterred by
R.C. 2151.23(H)’s unequivocal statement that upon transfer of a case from the
juvenile court, the adult court has jurisdiction to enter a conviction “for the
commission of another offense that is different from the offense charged,” the court
in Smith explained that the adult court’s jurisdiction extended only to “an offense
different from the offense charged that was rooted in the offense that was the basis
of the transfer” (emphasis added), 2022-Ohio-274 at ¶ 35. The judicial lawmaking
exercised by the court in Smith ignores that once a case is transferred from the
juvenile court to the adult court, the adult court has jurisdiction to “hear and
determine the case in the same manner as if the case originally had been
commenced in that court,” R.C. 2151.23(H), and that jurisdiction extends to all
charges indicted by the grand jury.
{¶ 24} Lest one conclude that an act charged in a juvenile complaint for
which a person is later indicted by the grand jury in the adult court would satisfy
the newly created “rooted in” requirement, the Smith court dispelled that notion by
announcing that a charge for which probable cause had not been found by the
juvenile court “[had] effectively been dismissed,” Smith at ¶ 36. Presumably, under
the Smith court’s reasoning, the “dismissal” was with prejudice so that the person
could not be later convicted of the offense. The problem with that logic was laid
bare by the dissent in Smith: “A no-probable-cause finding cannot result in the
dismissal of the acts charged, because . . . a dismissal can occur only after an
adjudication. The probable-cause hearing is not an adjudicatory hearing; it is
patently something else” (citation omitted), id. at ¶ 86 (Kennedy, J., dissenting).
same case number or different case numbers.” See 2022 Am.Sub.S.B. No. 288. But we apply the
law that was in effect when the offenses were committed. See footnote 2.
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January Term, 2026
{¶ 25} Compounding the problems with its understanding of the statutory
scheme, the court in Smith determined that the adult court lacked subject-matter
jurisdiction over an act that was transferred from the juvenile court without a
probable-cause determination. See id. at ¶ 42. Thus, in the eyes of the court in
Smith, the adult court’s judgment with respect to such an act was void ab initio.
While the court in Smith was correct that a decision made by a trial court without
subject-matter jurisdiction is void, see State v. Harper, 2020-Ohio-2913, ¶ 23, it
misapprehended when a court’s subject-matter jurisdiction is implicated.
{¶ 26} “Subject-matter jurisdiction refers to the constitutional or statutory
power of a court to adjudicate a particular class or type of case.” Id. at ¶ 23. The
Ohio Constitution provides the General Assembly with the power to determine the
subject-matter jurisdiction of the common pleas courts and its divisions. See Ohio
Const., art. IV, § 4(B). With respect to juvenile matters, the General Assembly has
given juvenile courts exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction over juveniles who are
alleged to be delinquent for committing offenses that would be crimes if committed
by adults. See R.C. 2151.23. The General Assembly has further established that a
juvenile court may or must relinquish its exclusive jurisdiction when certain
conditions are met. See R.C. 2152.12(A) and (B). Thus, contrary to the court’s
conclusion in Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, the question is not whether the adult court has
jurisdiction over a specific act. Instead, the question is whether the adult court has
jurisdiction over the type of case transferred. And as explained by the justice
concurring in part and dissenting in part in Burns, “[i]t is . . . within the subject-
matter jurisdiction of a juvenile court to transfer a case, and it is within the subject-
matter jurisdiction of the adult court to hear the case,” 2022-Ohio-4606 at ¶ 67
(Kennedy, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
{¶ 27} Because this court’s holding in Smith was untethered from the
unambiguous statutory language in effect at the time Turner committed his
offenses, we overrule it. And to the extent that this court applied its holding in
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SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
Smith to its decision in Burns, we overrule it as well. We hold that under the version
of R.C. 2152.12(I) in effect at the time Turner committed his offenses, when a
juvenile court transfers a case to the adult court—whether under mandatory- or
discretionary-bindover procedures—it transfers the entire case, including all the
acts charged in the juvenile complaint. The juvenile court’s jurisdiction over the
case abates, and the adult court has jurisdiction as though the case had been initiated
there. The adult court’s jurisdiction extends not only to offenses charged in the
juvenile complaint but also to any offense for which the grand jury issues an
indictment.
C. The Adult Court Had Jurisdiction to Convict Turner of Attempted Murder
and Having a Weapon While under a Disability
{¶ 28} Here, once the juvenile court found probable cause to believe that
Turner had committed aggravated murder, it was required to transfer the case to the
adult court. Following the transfer, the adult court had jurisdiction over all the
counts for which the grand jury issued an indictment against him, including the
jurisdiction to accept Turner’s guilty pleas to the charges of attempted murder and
having a weapon while under a disability.
D. The Dissenting Opinions Miss the Mark
{¶ 29} The first dissenting opinion decries our decision to overturn Smith
and Burns. It is largely grounded on three arguments, none of which withstand
scrutiny. First, it protests that we “violate[]” stare decisis by overturning Smith,
2022-Ohio-274. Dissenting opinion of Fischer, J., ¶ 41, 42. But “‘stare decisis
isn’t supposed to be the art of methodically ignoring what everyone knows to be
true.’” State v. Williams, 2024-Ohio-1433, ¶ 27 (Kennedy, C.J., concurring in
judgment only), quoting Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. 83, 105 (2020). And here,
what the first dissenting opinion knows to be true is that Smith was wrongly
decided. See Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, at ¶ 45 (Kennedy, J., dissenting, joined by
Fischer, J.). “[W]hen a court adheres to an act of statutory misinterpretation by
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January Term, 2026
applying stare decisis, the court ‘perpetuates a usurpation of the legislative power.’”
Williams at ¶ 28 (Kennedy, C.J., concurring in judgment only), quoting Gamble v.
United States, 587 U.S. 678, 718 (2019) (Thomas, J., concurring).
{¶ 30} As explained above, this court in Smith overstepped the bounds of
judicial power: it employed dubious logic to give the word “act” more significance
than the word “case” and grafted the phrase “rooted in” onto R.C. 2151.23(H).4
More troublingly, the court in Smith took from the General Assembly the power to
establish the subject-matter jurisdiction of the common pleas courts. See Ohio
Const., art IV, § 4 (B). The first dissenting opinion would have us perpetuate
Smith’s usurpation of the General Assembly’s power in the name of stare decisis.
{¶ 31} Second, the first dissenting opinion frets about the effect that this
court’s overturning Smith will have on defendants who have appeals pending. See
dissenting opinion of Fischer, J., at ¶ 45-46. But continuing to apply this court’s
holding in Smith would not provide those defendants with any certainty in the
outcome of their appeals. The cases that we have decided since Smith—Burns,
2022-Ohio-4606, Williams, Taylor, 2024-Ohio-1752, and Macklin, 2024-Ohio-
2687—illustrate the difficulty the courts of appeals have faced in attempting to
apply our judge-made law. A return to the plain language of the statute provides
more certainty, not less.
4. The first dissenting opinion attempts to justify the judicially concocted “rooted in” language by a
creative reading of R.C. 2151.23(H). It reasons that the statute’s phrase “whether the conviction is
for the same degree or a lesser degree of the offense charged” applies to the subsequent phrases “for
the commission of a lesser-included offense, or for the commission of another offense that is
different from the offense charged.” See dissenting opinion of Fischer, J., at ¶ 61. But when read
under proper grammar rules, it is clear that the phrase beginning with “whether” applies only to the
phrase immediately preceding it: “for the commission of the offense that was the basis of the transfer
of the case for criminal prosecution.” Thus, the adult court has jurisdiction to enter a judgment of
conviction (1) “for the commission of the offense that was the basis of the transfer of the case for
criminal conviction, whether the conviction is for the same degree or a lesser degree of the offense
charged,” (2) “for the commission of a lesser-included offense,” or (3) “for the commission of
another offense that is different from the offense charged,” R.C. 2151.23(H).
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{¶ 32} Third, the first dissenting opinion points to the enactment of
R.C. 2152.022, which seemingly adopts the definition of “case” that this court used
in Smith, 2022-Ohio-274. See dissenting opinion of Fischer, J., at ¶ 44. But again,
we are applying the law that was in effect at the time of Turner’s offenses (see
footnote 2). And even if we were to apply the newly enacted law, the result here
would not change. Defining “case” as including only those acts for which probable
cause was found by the juvenile court affects only what is transferred from the
juvenile court to the adult court. Left unchanged by the General Assembly was that
R.C. 2151.23(H) gives the adult court jurisdiction to accept a verdict and enter a
conviction “for the commission of another offense that is different from the offense
charged.” Overturning Smith returns the power to determine the subject-matter
jurisdiction of the common pleas court to where it belongs—the General Assembly.
The April 2023 amendments to the juvenile-bindover statutes do not change that
jurisdiction.
{¶ 33} The second dissenting opinion bears a brief mention. It suggests that
we are “executing a vendetta,” dissenting opinion of Brunner, J., ¶ 71, and
questions our humility, see id. at ¶ 71. Setting aside the vitriol, the second
dissenting opinion largely boils down to two points: that we refuse to accept the
court’s decision in Smith, see dissenting opinion of Brunner, J., at ¶ 70, and that we
are ignoring the will of the legislature, see id. at ¶ 71. As to the former point, we
agree. We refuse to accept a decision so untethered to the statutory scheme. And
regarding the latter point, the second dissenting opinion ignores that, as discussed
above, the amendments to the statutory scheme did not remove the adult court’s
jurisdiction over “another offense that is different from the offense charged,”
R.C. 2151.23(H). Notably, the General Assembly did not deign to add to the statute
the judicially concocted “rooted in” language that the court in Smith and Burns
used.
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January Term, 2026
{¶ 34} The juvenile courts’ function is to determine whether the statutory
conditions for adult prosecution have been satisfied—most critically, whether
probable cause that the child committed a qualifying offense exists and whether
transfer of the case to the adult court is either permitted or required. Once that
determination is made and jurisdiction is relinquished by the juvenile court, the case
proceeds in the adult court under the ordinary rules governing criminal
prosecutions. The statutory scheme does not require the juvenile court to anticipate
every possible charge that may arise from the same criminal episode, nor does it
convert the bindover hearing into a substitute for indictment. The approach created
by this court’s decision in Smith—to which the dissenting opinions would cling—
did just that. By welding adult prosecution to the precise wording of a juvenile
complaint, Smith transformed a threshold jurisdictional inquiry into a supervisory
mechanism that could encourage overcharging: if the juvenile complaint controlled
all future prosecution, it would make sense to include more charges. The result
would be duplicative proceedings whenever additional offenses arising from the
same conduct come to light or whenever evidentiary development supports an
enhanced charge. Nothing in the statutory text suggests that the General Assembly
intended such inefficiency.
{¶ 35} Nor does today’s holding diminish constitutional safeguards for any
child charged in a juvenile court who is subject to transfer for prosecution in the
adult court. Any charge pursued in adult court remains subject to indictment,
notice, proof beyond reasonable doubt, and all attendant protections of due process.
The juvenile offender receives the protection that the statutory scheme promises: a
judicial determination that transfer to the adult court is authorized. What the
scheme does not promise—and what we decline to create—is a charge-by-charge
veto power residing indefinitely in the juvenile court.
{¶ 36} By conflating jurisdictional transfer with charge-specific
certification, the precedent championed by the dissenting opinions enlarged the
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statutory protection beyond its design and invited procedural gamesmanship
dependent on the drafting of an initial juvenile complaint. Our decision restores
the scheme that the General Assembly enacted: a defined relinquishment of
jurisdiction followed by prosecution under adult criminal procedure. That
restoration promotes coherence and finality while keeping constitutional safeguards
for juvenile offenders in place.
{¶ 37} Finally, a note of clarification about Burns. The first dissenting
opinion questions the effect of our overturning Burns to the extent that Burns
applied this court’s holding in Smith. See dissenting opinion of Fischer, J., at ¶ 50.
We mean just what we say: to the extent Burns relied on Smith to graft the “rooted
in” language onto R.C. 2151.23(H), we overturn it. It is not the role of the judiciary
to write legislation.
III. CONCLUSION
{¶ 38} For the reasons explained above, we overrule State v. Smith, 2022-
Ohio-274, and to the extent that this court applied its holding in Smith to its decision
in State v. Burns, 2022-Ohio-4606, we overrule it as well. By the unambiguous
terms of the statutory scheme, the adult court had jurisdiction to convict Turner of
attempted murder and having a weapon while under a disability, in addition to
murder. Given our resolution of the first and third propositions of law, we need not
consider whether Turner waived his right to challenge the adult court’s jurisdiction
over his case by entering guilty pleas in that court. We accordingly reverse the
judgment of the Eighth District Court of Appeals, reinstate Turner’s convictions,
and remand this matter to the Eighth District for consideration of Turner’s
remaining assignments of error.
Judgment reversed,
convictions reinstated,
and cause remanded.
__________________
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FISCHER, J., dissenting.
{¶ 39} I am profoundly disappointed in the majority today. Instead of
following the law as repeatedly interpreted by this court and confirmed by the
General Assembly, the majority uses this case as an opportunity to impose its will
on Ohio law and overturn State v. Smith, a case that this court has previously refused
to overturn four separate times. Compare Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, with State v.
Burns, 2022-Ohio-4606, State v. Williams, 2024-Ohio-1433, State v. Taylor, 2024-
Ohio-1752, and State v. Macklin, 2024-Ohio-2687. Even worse, the majority
overturns Burns in its entirety, including a holding that every justice of this court
agreed on at the time and that no one asked this court to overturn. Thus, I must
dissent.
I. The majority opinion lights a match by overturning Smith
{¶ 40} In Smith, this court was tasked with determining what is transferred
from the juvenile court to the adult court under R.C. 2152.12, one of the juvenile-
bindover statutes. Smith at ¶ 24-25; see also Williams at ¶ 13 (summarizing this
court’s decision in Smith). Both the majority and the dissenting opinions in that
case used statutory interpretation to analyze the issue. See Smith at ¶ 27-43; id. at
¶ 47-72 (Kennedy, J., dissenting). In Smith, this court held that “a juvenile court
may transfer a case or a matter to adult court, but the adult court’s jurisdiction is
limited to the acts charged for which probable cause was found.” Id. at ¶ 29. The
dissenting opinion, which I joined, asserted that “the case” as that term is used in
the statute meant “the filed complaint and all the acts charged in it.” Id. at ¶ 64
(Kennedy, J., dissenting). Therefore, the dissenting opinion would have held that
after a proper bindover, the entire case transfers to the adult court, not just those
offenses for which probable cause was found by the juvenile court.
{¶ 41} Nevertheless, the majority opinion in Smith won the day, and that
opinion was upheld by this court four separate times. See Burns; Williams; Taylor;
Macklin. Overturning Smith at this late date is unwise because doing so violates
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stare decisis and works an injustice. Furthermore, the General Assembly has since
amended the juvenile-bindover statutes to codify this court’s holding in Smith.
A. Overturning Smith violates stare decisis
{¶ 42} Let’s start with stare decisis. “Stare decisis is a cornerstone of our
legal system . . . .” Webster v. Reproductive Health Servs., 492 U.S. 490, 518
(1989). It “compels a court to recognize and follow an established legal decision
in subsequent cases in which the same question of law is at issue.” State v.
Henderson, 2020-Ohio-4784, ¶ 28. While “the doctrine of stare decisis is not an
inexorable command, . . . fidelity to that precedent is fundamental to a society
governed by the rule of law.” (Cleaned up.) Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808,
848 (1991) (Marshall, J., dissenting).
{¶ 43} Stare decisis can be applied with varying force, but we have
described precedent that “involves statutory interpretation . . . as more sacrosanct
than the common-law precedents.” Rocky River v. State Emp. Relations Bd., 43
Ohio St.3d 1, 6 (1989). “Precedent that involves statutory interpretation ‘is owed
greater stare decisis effect than other sources of law, because the legislature can
always amend a statute in light of a court’s construction.’” Williams, 2024-Ohio-
1433, at ¶ 17, quoting State v. Wilson, 2022-Ohio-3202, ¶ 51 (DeWine, J.,
dissenting); see also New Riegel Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Buehrer Group
Architecture & Eng., Inc., 2019-Ohio-2851, ¶ 19 (stare decisis applies to statutory
interpretation because the legislature may amend a statute if it disagrees with the
court’s interpretation); State v. Bodyke, 2010-Ohio-2424, ¶ 33 (lead opinion),
quoting Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson, 2007-Ohio-6948, ¶ 23 (“‘stare decisis
applies to rulings rendered in regard to specific statutes’”). Because this court used
statutory interpretation to reach its conclusion in Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, and
affirmed its holding in Smith in no less than four other cases, see Burns, 2022-Ohio-
4606; Williams; Taylor, 2024-Ohio-1752; Macklin, 2024-Ohio-2687, this court’s
precedent supports adhering to that decision when deciding later cases.
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B. The General Assembly has since codified Smith
{¶ 44} The majority opinion says that we should not apply stare decisis to
preserve Smith, because “‘adher[ing] to an act of statutory misinterpretation’”
would be tantamount to “‘“perpetuat[ing] a usurpation of legislative power.”’”
Majority opinion, ¶ 29, quoting Williams at ¶ 28 (Kennedy, C.J., concurring in
judgment only), quoting Gamble v. United States, 587 U.S. 678, 718 (2019)
(Thomas, J., concurring). But even if the majority in Smith improperly interpreted
the statute at the time, the General Assembly has since blessed that interpretation.
In 2022, the General Assembly created a new statutory provision, R.C. 2152.022,
defining “case” as that term is used in the juvenile-bindover statutes as “all charges
that are included in the complaint or complaints containing the allegation that is the
basis of the transfer . . . and for which the court found probable cause to believe
that the child committed the act charged.” 2022 Am.Sub.S.B. No. 288 (effective
Apr. 4, 2023). In other words, the General Assembly rejected the definition
proposed by the dissenting opinion in Smith and codified the majority opinion. See
Williams at ¶ 20. Thus, any justification asserted by the majority in this case to
overturn Smith because that decision was incorrect and usurps legislative authority
to decide the law is plainly not present here.
C. Overturning Smith creates an injustice
{¶ 45} Any need to “correct” Smith shrinks by the hour. As I stated in my
separate opinion in Taylor,
the General Assembly has spoken definitively about how bindover
cases from April 2023 forward are to be handled. Any further
statements of law we make regarding pre-April 2023 bindover
proceedings will apply to a shrinking number of cases. Overruling
Smith and Burns at this late date could have multiple
consequences—some foreseeable and perhaps some
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unforeseeable—and will effectively set up an unnecessary
competing set of approaches to pre- and post-April 2023 bindovers.
While I fully agreed with the approach set forth in the separate
opinions in Smith and Burns, the relationship between the majority
opinion’s approach in Smith and the post-Smith amendments to the
relevant bindover statutes raise doubts in my mind as to whether it
is necessary for us to overrule those decisions at this time.
Taylor at ¶ 64 (Fischer, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). And
since the issuance of my separate opinion in Taylor, more than two years have
passed, ensuring that the court’s judgment in this case will affect even fewer cases.
This outcome is profoundly unfair for the few juvenile defendants who will be
affected by the court’s judgment in this case simply because their cases are still in
the appeals process compared to those defendants whose appeals were finalized
between when Smith was decided in February 2022 and now.
{¶ 46} The majority opinion dismisses this problem by stating that “[a]
return to the plain language of [R.C. 2151.23(H)] provides more certainty, not less,”
majority opinion at ¶ 31. But I am concerned about the unfairness for the likely
small number of juvenile defendants to whom the pre-April 2023 version of the
statute applies but whose appeals have not yet been finalized. Juvenile defendants
whose appeals have already been finalized under the pre-April 2023 version of the
statute had the benefit of this court’s holding in Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, meaning
that any convictions for offenses that were unrelated to the offense that was
transferred to the adult court or for which no probable cause was found had to be
overturned. However, a relatively small number of juvenile defendants will be
subject to a much harsher judicial scheme merely because they are unlucky enough
to still have appeals pending under the pre-April 2023 version of the statute. Unlike
their peers, those juvenile defendants may have their convictions affirmed for any
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and all offenses, even those unrelated to the offense that was transferred to the adult
court. I believe this is a serious miscarriage of justice.
{¶ 47} Beyond a sense of vindication, the majority opinion does not point
to any new argument or rationale for overturning Smith. In this case, this court is
presented with the same arguments that have been rejected in no less than four prior
cases. The parties to this case present no new reason for this court to review this
issue. And the majority’s decision to overturn Smith based on the same old
arguments shows a lack of respect for the role of stare decisis in our legal system.
II. The majority opinion burns it all to the ground by overturning Burns
{¶ 48} I am also concerned with the majority’s treatment of Burns, 2022-
Ohio-4606. Appellant, the State of Ohio, does not ask this court to overturn Burns
but instead argues that this court should apply Burns to reverse the judgment in this
case because the rule announced in Burns “tracks with R.C. 2151.23(H).”
{¶ 49} In Burns, this court relied on Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, to hold that the
adult court lacked jurisdiction over a charge for which the juvenile court found no
probable cause. Burns at ¶ 10. This court also separately held that the adult court
had jurisdiction over charges that were not brought in the juvenile court but were
“rooted in the acts that were the subject of the juvenile complaint.” Id. at ¶ 13. This
holding was based not on Smith but on the language of the statute and the caselaw
in effect prior to Smith. See id., citing R.C. 2151.23(H) and State v. Weaver, 2019-
Ohio-2477, ¶ 14 (6th Dist.). Furthermore, all the justices on this court when Burns
was decided agreed on the “rooted in” limitation. Although the opinion concurring
in part and dissenting in part used slightly different language—“arose from” instead
of “rooted in”—the result was the same. See id. at ¶ 72 (Kennedy, J., concurring
in part and dissenting in part) (“the adult court was free to proceed on any charges
the grand jury returned in an indictment that arose from the acts alleged to have
been committed in the juvenile complaint, because under the relevant statutes, ‘the
case’ transfers to the adult court”). All the justices agreed that the charges that were
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not brought in the juvenile court could nevertheless be heard by the adult court
because they were “rooted in” or “arose from” the acts that were the subject of the
juvenile complaint. See id. at ¶ 13; id. at ¶ 72 (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and
dissenting in part).
{¶ 50} But today, the majority apparently overturns Burns in its entirety and
holds as follows: “The adult court’s jurisdiction extends not only to offenses
charged in the juvenile complaint but also to any offense for which the grand jury
issues an indictment,” majority opinion at ¶ 27. I say the majority “apparently”
overturns Burns in its entirety because the majority does so while professing that it
overturns Burns only “to the extent that this court applied its holding in Smith to its
decision in Burns,” majority opinion at ¶ 3, and without admitting that it is
overturning a rule of law that was approved by every justice on this court when
Burns was decided.
{¶ 51} But that must be the import of the majority opinion, because the
majority opinion summarily states that “[f]ollowing the transfer, the adult court had
jurisdiction over all the counts for which the grand jury issued an indictment against
[appellee, Tavonte Turner], including the jurisdiction to accept Turner’s guilty
plea[] to the charge[] of attempted murder,” majority opinion at ¶ 28, a charge that
was not brought before the juvenile court. The majority opinion engages in no
analysis of whether that charge was rooted in or arose from the acts that were the
subject of the juvenile complaint, because the majority says that once a case is
transferred from the juvenile court to the adult court, the prosecution may bring any
and all charges against the juvenile, even those that occurred on a different date,
arose from a separate incident, and were committed against different victims. See
id. at ¶ 23. But that interpretation of the bindover statutes is as absurd as it is
unmoored from the statutory language.
A. The “rooted in” requirement in Burns is supported by the statutory scheme
{¶ 52} As this court said in Williams,
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January Term, 2026
[w]hile the “rooted in the acts that were the subject of the juvenile
complaint” limitation from Burns is not found in the language of
R.C. 2151.23(H), that limitation is supported by the bindover
scheme as a whole. A person who was a juvenile when he
committed a felony offense may be bound over to adult court for
acts for which the juvenile court found probable cause, but that
bindover does not establish that the juvenile may then be bound over
for all future felony charges. See State v. D.W., 133 Ohio St.3d 434,
2012-Ohio-4544, 978 N.E.2d 894, ¶ 44-45. While a grand jury may
return an indictment on any charges supported by the facts submitted
to it, the grand jury is implicitly precluded from returning additional
charges arising from a different course of conduct or an event that
has not been properly bound over by the juvenile court. See Burns[,
2022-Ohio-4606,] at ¶ 13; see also State v. Weaver, 6th Dist. Lucas
No. L-18-1078, 2019-Ohio-2477, 2019 WL 2564126, ¶ 14. Only
charges that are rooted in events that were considered and bound
over by the juvenile court are subject to being heard and determined
by the adult court.
2024-Ohio-1433 at ¶ 19.
B. The “rooted in” requirement in Burns is supported by the statutory
language
{¶ 53} This common-sense understanding of the juvenile-bindover statutes
is further supported by the statutory language. The majority reasons that once a
juvenile is bound over to adult court, that court has jurisdiction under R.C.
2151.23(H) to “‘hear and determine the case in the same manner as if the case
originally had been commenced in that court,’” majority opinion at ¶ 16, quoting
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R.C. 2151.23(H), and “enter a conviction ‘for the commission of another offense
that is different from the offense charged,’” id. at ¶ 23, quoting R.C. 2151.23(H).
To the majority, this means that the adult court may enter a conviction for any other
offense. See id. at ¶ 16. But there are two major problems with the majority’s
reading of the statute.
1. The adult court obtains jurisdiction over “the case,” which consists of all
charges that are rooted in or arose from the acts that were the subject of the
juvenile complaint
{¶ 54} The first problem with the majority’s reading of the statute is that
R.C. 2151.23(H) grants the adult court jurisdiction to hear and determine only “the
case” in the same manner as if it originally had been commenced in that court.
R.C. 2151.23(H) (“The court to which the case is transferred for criminal
prosecution . . . has jurisdiction subsequent to the transfer to hear and determine the
case in the same manner as if the case originally had been commenced in that
court . . . .” [Emphasis added.]). The statute does not grant the adult court
jurisdiction to hear and determine “the charges” or “the allegations” against the
juvenile in the same manner as if they had originally been commenced in that court.
{¶ 55} So what is “the case”? Surely “the case” is not any and all charges
against the juvenile, even those that have absolutely nothing to do with the acts for
which the juvenile was bound over. Rather, “the case” is all charges that are “rooted
in [or arose from] the acts that were the subject of the juvenile complaint.” Burns,
2022-Ohio-4606, at ¶ 13; see also id. at ¶ 72 (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and
dissenting in part).
{¶ 56} And every justice on this court agreed on that definition of “the case”
when Burns was decided. Even the opinion concurring in part and dissenting in
part agreed to that definition of “the case,” stating:
Therefore, the grand jury was free to consider the case that
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transferred from the juvenile court; that is, it could consider any of
the delinquent acts allegedly committed by Burns that were included
in the juvenile complaint. And the adult court was free to proceed
on any charges the grand jury returned in an indictment that arose
from the acts alleged to have been committed in the juvenile
complaint, because under the relevant statutes, “the case” transfers
to the adult court.
See id.
{¶ 57} Even more explicit is the dissenting opinion in Smith, which was
joined by all the justices who joined the separate opinion in Burns, including some
of the members of today’s majority opinion. “Therefore, the case is the filed
complaint and all the acts charged in it.” Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, at ¶ 64 (Kennedy,
J., dissenting). “R.C. 2151.23(H) plainly establishes that the adult court has
jurisdiction to consider any charge arising out of the commission of the offense that
led to the transfer.” Id. at ¶ 79 (Kennedy, J., dissenting). “[I]n common parlance,
a criminal ‘case’ means all the charges emanating from a series of related events.”
Id. at ¶ 62 (Kennedy, J., dissenting).
{¶ 58} Even the majority today acknowledges that “the case” is what
transfers to the adult court, see majority opinion at ¶ 22, and the majority likewise
defines “the case” as “all the acts charged in the juvenile complaint,” id. at ¶ 27.
{¶ 59} R.C. 2151.23(H) grants the adult court jurisdiction to hear and
determine only “the case” in the same manner as if it originally had been
commenced in that court. But the majority today holds that the statute grants the
adult court jurisdiction to enter convictions for offenses that occurred on a different
date, arose from a separate incident, were committed against different victims, and
were never charged in the juvenile complaint. See id. at ¶ 16. This is clearly wrong.
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2. R.C. 2151.23(H) allows the adult court to enter a conviction only “for the
commission of the offense that was the basis of the transfer”
{¶ 60} The second problem with the majority’s reading of the statute is that
it ignores some important language in R.C. 2151.23(H), which says that the adult
court has jurisdiction “to enter a judgment of conviction . . . for the commission of
the offense that was the basis of the transfer of the case for criminal prosecution,
whether the conviction is for the same degree or a lesser degree of the offense
charged, for the commission of a lesser-included offense, or for the commission of
another offense that is different from the offense charged.” (Emphasis added.)
Each of these scenarios—conviction for an offense of the same or lesser degree,
conviction for the commission of a lesser-included offense, or conviction for the
commission of another offense that is different from the offense charged—follow
the word “whether,” which means they are subject to the preceding condition. The
preceding condition requires that the conviction be “for the commission of the
offense that was the basis of the transfer of the case,” R.C. 2151.23(H).
{¶ 61} The majority dismisses my argument as a “creative reading” of the
statute, majority opinion at ¶ 30, fn. 4. But contrary to the majority’s
misrepresentation, I am not arguing that “the statute’s phrase ‘whether the
conviction is for the same degree or a lesser degree of the offense charged’ applies
to the subsequent phrases ‘for the commission of a lesser-included offense, or for
the commission of another offense that is different from the offense charged,’” id.
Rather, I agree with the majority regarding how to read the statute under proper
grammar rules. I agree that “it is clear that the phrase beginning with ‘whether’
applies only to the phrase immediately preceding it: ‘for the commission of the
offense that was the basis of the transfer of the case for criminal prosecution,’” id.
In other words, the statute should be read as saying that the adult court may enter a
conviction “for the commission of another offense that is different from the offense
charged” as long as the conviction is “for the commission of the offense that was
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the basis of the transfer of the case for criminal prosecution,” R.C. 2151.23(H).
This may seem like a contradiction, but even the majority admits that this is how
the statute must be read when proper grammar rules are applied. See majority
opinion at ¶ 30, fn. 4.
{¶ 62} So what does R.C. 2151.23(H) mean when it says that a juvenile may
be convicted of “another offense that is different from the offense charged” while
being convicted “for the commission of the offense that was the basis of the transfer
of the case”? (Emphasis added.) It means that the juvenile may be convicted in
the adult court of an offense that was not charged in the juvenile complaint but was
rooted in or arose from the same acts that were the subject of the juvenile complaint.
{¶ 63} For example, in Burns, after the juvenile was bound over to the adult
court, he was charged with the attempted murders of two people. Burns, 2022-
Ohio-4606, at ¶ 13. While those specific charges were not brought in the juvenile
complaint, Burns was charged in the juvenile complaint with other offenses related
to his attack on those same two people. Id. Therefore, this court determined that
Burns was properly charged in the adult court with attempted murder because those
charges were “rooted in” or “arose from” the same acts that were the basis of the
juvenile complaint. See id. This is what the statute means when it says the juvenile
may be convicted in the adult court of “another offense that is different from the
offense charged,” R.C. 2151.23(H).
C. It is the majority’s approach that encourages gamesmanship
{¶ 64} The majority claims that leaving Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, and Burns
intact would encourage overcharging because “duplicative proceedings” would be
necessary “whenever additional offenses arising from the same conduct come to
light or whenever evidentiary development supports an enhanced charge,” majority
opinion at ¶ 34. However, this is certainly untrue. Such subsequent charges would
clearly be “rooted in the acts that were the subject of the juvenile complaint,” Burns
at ¶ 13, and would therefore be allowed under Smith and Burns without any
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additional proceedings. Smith and Burns do not create an overcharging problem.
{¶ 65} But under the majority’s approach, the exact opposite is true. Instead
of overcharging juveniles, prosecutors will be encouraged to habitually
undercharge them in juvenile court. The majority’s approach would encourage
prosecutors to bring the least serious charge for which they can seek the juvenile’s
bindover to the adult court (any felony), see R.C. 2152.12(B), and once the juvenile
is bound over, to bring much more serious charges in the adult court, even if those
charges are unrelated to the charge for which the juvenile was bound over. Under
the majority’s approach, the prosecutor could charge the juvenile in the juvenile
court with theft and once the juvenile is bound over to the adult court, the prosecutor
could bring charges for murder based on a completely separate incident against a
separate victim. Contrary to the majority’s claims, it is the majority’s approach that
would “invite[] procedural gamesmanship,” majority opinion at ¶ 36.
III. Conclusion
{¶ 66} There is a time for everything and a season for every activity in this
world, but the time to overrule Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, has passed. While I joined
the dissenting opinion in Smith, it is clear that the General Assembly has rejected
that opinion’s interpretation of the juvenile-bindover statutes. And while I agreed
with the dissenting opinion’s approach to juvenile bindover when Smith was
decided, I wholeheartedly disagree with today’s majority and the contempt that it
shows for the rule of law in Ohio. I further strongly dissent from the majority’s
decision to overturn Burns, 2022-Ohio-4606, which established a common-sense
rule of law that comports with the language of the bindover statute and was agreed
upon by all the justices on this court at that time.
{¶ 67} Instead, I would dismiss this appeal as having been improvidently
accepted because the Eighth District Court of Appeals applied Smith and Burns as
decided by this court and the State does not raise any new legal issues for this court
to decide on this particular issue. Therefore, I dissent.
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__________________
BRUNNER, J., dissenting.
{¶ 68} I agree with the first dissenting opinion that this case should be
dismissed as having been improvidently accepted. See dissenting opinion of
Fischer, J., ¶ 67. The majority opinion reverses this court’s holding in State v.
Smith, 2022-Ohio-274, simply because it can. But this court has no power to alter
the legislature’s decision to codify key legal interpretations made by this court in
Smith.
{¶ 69} It is the role of the General Assembly—not this court—to write the
laws prescribing when a juvenile may be prosecuted as an adult. If we have made
a mistake or caused confusion in interpreting the laws enacted by the General
Assembly governing the juvenile-bindover process, it is the General Assembly’s
prerogative to rewrite the laws or enact new ones. If the General Assembly was
less than clear in its drafting of statutes and we have clarified how those statutes
are to be applied by the courts of this State, it is the prerogative of the General
Assembly whether it agrees with and codifies that interpretation.
{¶ 70} Since we issued our opinion in Smith, factions of this court have been
stubbornly pursuing its reversal. But the General Assembly shut down any debate
over how to interpret key terms in the juvenile-bindover statutes a day before we
decided State v. Burns, 2022-Ohio-4606, in which we reaffirmed our holding in
Smith. On December 22, 2022, the General Assembly passed 2022 Am.Sub.S.B.
No. 288 (“S.B. 288”), which, effective April 4, 2023, amended the juvenile-
bindover laws to (1) follow this court’s holding in Smith and (2) answer questions
the General Assembly deemed unaddressed by this court in Smith. See Ohio
Legislative Service Commission, S.B. 288 Bill Analysis, available at
https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/download?key=19873&format=pdf (accessed
Apr. 6, 2026) [https://perma.cc/6MFF-6FY6]. That action by the policy-setting
branch of Ohio’s government should have closed the book on whether this court in
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Smith correctly interpreted the juvenile-bindover statutes. And there can be no
dispute that as of April 4, 2023, the effective date of S.B. 288, the legislature
instructed us that Smith is now the law.
{¶ 71} But for appellee, Tavante Turner, and perhaps a handful of other
defendants still entangled in appeals concerning juvenile bindovers that occurred
before the effective date of S.B. 288, the majority opinion refuses to humbly accept
the outcome that the fundamental constitutional tenet of separation of powers
demands. The majority opinion instead engages in results-oriented jurisprudence,
creating the appearance of executing a vendetta of the minority of the court at the
time Smith was decided. In so doing, the majority opinion takes unwarranted
advantage of this opportunity to impose its own biases about the application of the
State’s juvenile-bindover statutes—which were rejected by a majority of this court
multiple times, see dissenting opinion of Fischer, J., at ¶ 39, and ultimately rejected
by lawmakers—on litigants who happen to be caught in the pre-S.B. 288 window.
{¶ 72} The majority opinion’s arbitrary and unnecessary decision does not
represent a fair administration of justice. Rather, it stands as contemptuous of fair
process and as an abuse of the judiciary to satisfy a yearning for retribution instead
of justice. The words of the majority opinion demean the work of this court and
shake the confidence of the public in what we do. In short, the words of the majority
opinion are shameful.
{¶ 73} I disagreed with this court’s decision to accept appellant the State of
Ohio’s request for discretionary review of this case, see 2023-Ohio-4640. I
continue to believe this case was improvidently accepted for review, and now, I call
it out as wrongly decided.
__________________
Michael C. O’Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Daniel
T. Van and Gregory Ochocki, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, for appellant.
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Cullen Sweeney, Cuyahoga County Public Defender, and Rick L. Ferrara,
Assistant Public Defender, for appellee.
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