The Right to Allocute

A woman was charged with leaving the scene of an accident that caused injury
for an accident that took place in 2008. The victim of the accident eventually
died as a result of the impact. In conviction of leaving the scene of
an accident involving injury, trial court erred in imposing sentence without
giving defendant the right to allocute, Crim.R. 32(A)(1), and doctrine
of waiver does not apply where court did not ask her if she wanted to
allocute. In most jurisdictions throughout the United States, a defendant
is allowed to allocute. This means that they are permitted to speak freely
and explain themselves before they are issued a sentence. Without giving
a defendant the right to speak out freely like this, then a sentence could
be overturned, as it was in this case. For more on the right to allocute,
see 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) or the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(4).