AGO 1993-080.

• Case Date: December 30, 1993
• Court: Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Opinions 1993. AGO 1993-080. December 30, 1993OPINION NO. 1993-080Reginald A. Wilkinson, DirectorDepartment of Rehabilitation and Correction1050 Freeway Drive, North Columbus, Ohio 43229 Dear Director Wilkinson: You have requested an opinion concerning the Interstate Agreement on Detainers ("IAD"). Specifically, you ask:

1. Under the [Interstate] Agreement on Detainers (ORC 2963.30) is a prosecutor who accepted temporary custody of a prisoner obligated to return the prisoner to the sending state immediately after prosecution or can the prisoner be committed to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction "for processing"?

2. If there is no authority for a county to commit the prisoner to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction "for processing", retake custody and return him to the sending state, what action should the Reception Center take if an attempt is made to commit to the Department a prisoner against whom such a sentence was imposed? Should the Reception Center refuse to accept custody of the prisoner from the Sheriff? Should the prisoner be accepted and held by the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction "until the term of imprisonment expires, he is pardoned or paroled, or he is transferred under the laws permitting the transfer of prisoners" as required by ORC 2949.12? Should the Reception Center accept custody of the prisoner and return custody of the prisoner to the sheriff as ordered in the Journal Entry"?

3. If the prisoner can be admitted "for processing" and this Department receives a prisoner with sentences from two separate counties, one ordering him returned to the sending state to continue serving his sentence and the other ordering him committed to this Department for a term of years "or until otherwise pardoned, paroled, or released according to law," what action do we take?

4. If the prisoner is committed to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, returned to the custody of the sheriff and transported to a facility in the other state, is the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction or any of its employees subject to suit for false imprisonment under Section 2725.25 of the Revised Code? If a suit for false imprisonment is brought against an employee for "aiding or assisting" in the transport out-of-state, will the employee be represented by the office of the Attorney General and be indemnified for any judgment rendered against the employee?

5. If the prisoner is committed to the Department, returned to the custody of the sheriff, and transported out-of-state to serve his Ohio sentence, what is the process to enforce the return of the prisoner to Ohio to serve the balance of his Ohio sentence?

6. If the prisoner is committed to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to serve an indeterminate sentence but is transported out-of-state to serve that sentence, is the Parole Board obligated to conduct a parole release hearing at such time as the prisoner has served sufficient time to be eligible for parole consideration?

The Interstate Agreement on Detainers In 1969, Ohio entered into the Interstate Agreement on Detainers ("IAD"). See R.C. 2963.30; 1969-1970 Ohio Laws, Part I, 1067 (Am. S.B. 356, eff. Nov. 18, 1969). The IAD is a compact among the states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government created to promote the expeditious and orderly disposition of charges outstanding against an individual already incarcerated in another jurisdiction, and to determine the proper status of any and all detainers(fn1) based on untried indictments, informations, and complaints. Interstate Agreement on Detainers, art. I. The IAD provides two methods of disposing of untried indictments, informations, and complaints and their related detainers. Under the IAD, a prisoner against whom a detainer is lodged may make a request for a final disposition of the indictment, information, or complaint on which the detainer is based. Id. art. III(a). Similarly, the appropriate officer of the jurisdiction in which an untried indictment, information, or complaint is pending may obtain temporary custody of a prisoner by first lodging a detainer against the prisoner and then presenting a written request for temporary custody over him. Id. art. IV(a). In response to a request under articles III or IV of the IAD, the appropriate authority in a state in which a prisoner is incarcerated shall offer to deliver temporary custody of the prisoner to the appropriate authority in a state where an indictment, information, or complaint is pending against the prisoner in order that speedy and efficient prosecution may be had. Id. art. V(a).

A Prosecuting Attorney Who Accepts Temporary Custody of a Prisoner Must Return the Prisoner to the Sending State Immediately After Prosecution

Your first question asks whether a prosecuting attorney who accepts temporary custody of a prisoner is obligated to return the prisoner to the sending state(fn2) immediately after prosecution or instead to commit the prisoner to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction ("Department") "for processing." The IAD specifically provides that "[a]t the earliest practicable time consonant with the purposes of this agreement, the prisoner shall be returned to the sending state." Id. art. V(e). As noted above, the purpose of the IAD is to encourage the expeditious and orderly disposition of charges outstanding against a prisoner and determination of the proper status of any and all detainers based on untried indictments, informations, or complaints. Id. art. I. A sending state offers to deliver temporary custody of a prisoner to a receiving state in order that speedy and efficient prosecution may be had. Id. art. V(a). The temporary custody referred to in the IAD is "only for the purpose of permitting prosecution on the charge or charges contained in one or more untried indictments, informations or complaints which form the basis of the detainer or detainers or for prosecution on any other charge or charges arising out of the same transaction." Id. art. V(d) (emphasis added). Because the temporary custody referred to in the IAD is only for the purpose of permitting prosecution of an individual by a receiving state, and an individual must be returned to the sending state at the earliest practicable time consonant with that purpose, it is reasonable to conclude that an individual must be returned to the sending state upon completion of the prosecution in the receiving state. See generally Wooster Republican Printing Co. v. Wooster, 56 Ohio St. 2d 126, 132, 383 N.E.2d 124, 128 (1978) ("[i]t is a well-settled principle of statutory construction that statutory provisions must be construed together. In essence, the doctrine requires that the Revised Code be read as an interrelated body of law" (footnote omitted)). Resolution of your first question, accordingly, turns on whether committing an individual to the Department "for processing" is part of the prosecution of that individual. "Prosecution" is not defined for purposes of the IAD. In the absence of a legislative definition, a word should be accorded its natural, literal, common, or plain meaning. R.C. 1.42; State v. Dorso, 4 Ohio St. 3d 60, 446 N.E.2d 449 (1983). Black's Law Dictionary 1221 (6th ed. 1990) defines "prosecution" as follows:

A criminal action; a proceeding instituted and carried on by due course of law, before a competent tribunal, for the purpose of determining the guilt or innocence of a person charged with crime. The continuous following up, through instrumentalities created by law, of a person accused of a public offense with a steady and fixed purpose of reaching a judicial determination of the guilt or innocence of the accused. (Citation omitted.)

The term "prosecution," for purposes of the IAD, thus means the institution and continuance of a criminal suit involving the process of bringing formal charges against an individual before a court of law and pursuing those charges to final judgment. In Ohio, the prosecution of a criminal offender is commenced by filing a complaint, indictment, or information, see Crim. R. 4; Crim. R. 7, and terminates upon the return of a verdict and imposition of a sentence by a court, if applicable, see R.C. 2947.23 ("[i]n all criminal cases ... the judge or magistrate shall include in the sentence the costs of prosecution"); R.C. 2949.09 ("[w]hen a judge or magistrate renders judgment for a fine, an execution may issue for such judgment and costs of prosecution"). After a guilty verdict is returned and sentence imposed, the trial court or magistrate shall, if no appeal is filed, if leave to file an appeal or certification of a case is denied, if the judgment of the trial court is affirmed on appeal, or if post-conviction relief under R.C. 2953.21 is denied, carry into execution the sentence which had been pronounced against the individual. R.C. 2949.05. Because an individual is committed to the Department after sentencing, see R.C. 2949.12; R.C. 5120.16; R.C. 5143.07, committing an individual to the Department "for processing" is not part of the prosecution. Accordingly, committing a prisoner in the temporary custody of a county prosecuting attorney to the Department for processing, rather than immediately returning such prisoner to the sending state, is not consistent with the limited purpose for which temporary custody has been...