In State of Ohio v. Caulley, (OH 12 Dist. Ct. App., Jan. 22, 2007), an Ohio appellate court upheld a trial judge's revocation of a community control sanction that allowed a convicted defendant to attend a treatment program instead of serving his 3-year prison sentence. Keith Caulley had asked to be removed from the MonDay program because it violated religious beliefs. He said that the program would require him to report the disruptive behavior of other participants, contrary to his religious beliefs. He believed that it is only God's job to judge.
In revoking the community control sanction and sentencing Caulley to prison, the judge made remarks such as: "Can you tell me where in the Bible it says it is all right to drink and drive, it is all right to flee the police, it is all right to steal your children? You have a record that is four pages long, what part of God's plan does that come under?" Caulley claimed that this demonstrates his sentence was based on his religious belief, in violation of Ohio Revised Code 2929.11(C) and the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The Court of Appeals, however, disagreed, finding that the judge's remarks were merely an expression of skepticism regarding the sincerity of Caulley's religious beliefs that he claimed prevented him from completing the MonDay program
