Can Failure to Notify Defendant of Post-Release Control Be Remedied by Resentencing Him After Completion of His Sentence ?

In Hernandez v. Kelly, 108 Ohio St.3d 395, 2006 Ohio 126, a trial court sentenced the defendant to a seven-year prison term after he pled guilty. However, the trial court failed to notify Hernandez of post-release control at the sentencing hearing and also failed to include post-release control in its subsequent judgment entry. 108 Ohio St.3d at 395. Following completion of his prison term and release thereafter, Hernandez was detained for violating his post-release control and the Adult Parole Authority imposed a prison term upon him. Hernandez filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention, which the Ohio Supreme Court granted. In doing so, the Court held, in pertinent part, that a trial court could not remedy its failure to notify a defendant of post-release control by resentencing him once he had already completed his sentence. Id. at 399-400.