Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Defendant, a legal resident of the United States, was indicted on two counts of robbery. Defendant admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilt in order to enroll in a diversion program. Defendant later moved to vacate his plea, arguing that his admission of guilt operated as a conviction under federal law and that the trial court erred by failing to provide him the advisement contained in Ohio Rev. Code 2943.031(A), which requires courts to alert noncitizens that a guilty plea or no-contest plea may affect their immigration status. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) section 2943.031(A) required the trial court to advise Defendant that his admission of guilt made for purposes of entering into the pretrial diversion program may affect his immigration status; and (2) because the trial court failed to give that advisement, the trial court must vacate the dismissal of the case against Defendant and vacate the admission of guilt executed as part of the pretrial diversion program process. Remanded. View "State v. Kona" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated and one count of murder in connection with the killing of Darian Polk. The trial court ordered the convictions merged for the purposes of sentencing. The State elected to have Defendant sentenced for the aggravated murder charged in count three. The trial court, however, imposed concurrent sentences on each of the three offenses instead of sentencing on only one offense. Defendant moved to correct his sentences, arguing that all of which convictions should be merged as allied offenses into a single conviction for aggravated murder. The trial court denied the motion, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court modified the judgment of the appellate court to vacate the sentences imposed for murder in count one and aggravated murder in count two, holding (1) imposing separate sentences for allied offenses of similar import is contrary to law, and those sentences are void; (2) Defendant’s convictions were allied offenses of similar import; and (3) because the State designated one allied offense for sentencing, a remand for resentencing was not necessary in this case. View "State v. Williams" on Justia Law

Appellant filed a petition in the court of appeals seeking a writ of mandamus against Judge Christopher Gee and the Miami County Court of Common Pleas. Specifically, Appellant sought a writ of mandamus ordering Judge Gee to grant him an appeal as of right in his underlying criminal case and to appoint counsel to represent him in the appeal. The court of appeals dismissed the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant failed to show a clear legal right to the requested relief, a clear legal duty on the part of Judge Gee to provide it, and the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law. View "State ex rel. Cain v. Gee" on Justia Law

Appellant pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition and was sentenced to sixteen months’ imprisonment. In addition, the trial court imposed five years of mandatory postrelease control. In 2014, Appellant pleaded guilty to attempted failure to provide a notice of change of address and was sentenced to one year. The trial court also imposed a prison term for the remainder of the period of postrelease control that Appellant was serving for the gross sexual imposition conviction. Appellant did not appeal. Appellant later filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus seeking a writ ordering Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kathleen A. Sutula to vacate his sentence for violating the terms of his postrelease control because he was not advised of the possibility of this sentence at his prior sentencing. The court of appeals granted summary judgment for Judge Sutula. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Appellant had an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law, a writ of mandamus was unavailable. View "State ex rel. Cornwall v. Sutula" on Justia Law

Appellant was convicted of burglary and other offenses and has been released on parole and convicted of new crimes at least five times. Appellant has filed at least three habeas corpus petition over the years, all of which have been denied. In 2015, Appellant filed the habeas petition that is the subject of this appeal, alleging primarily that the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the indictment for his 1979 conviction was not proper. The court of appeals dismissed Appellant’s habeas petition with prejudice. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that habeas corpus was not an appropriate avenue for challenging the validity of an indictment, that Appellant could have raised his arguments in a direct appeal, that Appellant’s petition was barred by the doctrine of res judicata, and that Appellant’s habeas petition was defective. View "State ex rel. Robinson v. LaRose" on Justia Law

Appellant pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with firearm specifications. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction. Appellant later filed a petition for postconviction relief, which was denied. Appellant then made a request for additional discovery and filed motions to compel discovery. Appellant subsequently filed a petition in mandamus requesting a writ ordering the Hamilton County prosecutor to produce the discovery relevant to his case. The court of appeals dismissed the petition on the grounds that the issues raised in the petition had been decided on direct appeal and in the appeal of the denial of Appellant’s petition for postconviction relief. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the prosecutor had no legal duty to provide discovery, and Appellant had no legal right to discovery; and (2) Appellant had an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law, precluding mandamus. View "State ex rel. Littlepage v. Deters" on Justia Law

In 1979, Appellant was convicted of aggravated burglary and attempted murder. In 2015, Appellant filed a motion to vacate the attempted-murder conviction. Judge John D. Sutula denied the motion. Thereafter, Appellant filed a petition for a writ of mandamus against Judge Sutula, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict him of attempted felony murder. The court of appeals granted summary judgment for Judge Sutula. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s claim was without merit; and (2) Appellant could appeal the denial of his motion to vacate his sentence, which was sufficient to preclude a writ of mandamus. View "State ex rel. Williams v. Sutula" on Justia Law

In 2002, Appellant was indicted on one count of aggravated murder with firearm specifications. The jury did not find Appellant guilty of aggravated murder but found him guilty of the lesser offense of murder. In 2015, Appellant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the jury’s failing to find him guilty of aggravated murder was an acquittal barring the jury from finding him guilty of the lesser included offense of murder. The court of appeals dismissed Appellant’s petition, finding that Appellant had failed to comply with the mandatory requirements of Ohio Rev. Code 2969.25. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s failure to satisfy section 2969.25(C)(1) required dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus; and (2) Appellant’s argument failed on the merits. View "State ex rel. Bates v. Eppinger" on Justia Law

In 1983, Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of felonious assault. Appellant’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal. Throughout the years, Appellant filed various motions and petitions challenging his convictions. In this action, Appellant alleged that his sentence and conviction were void because there was no record “of a jury rendering verdict(s) on September 10, 1983” in his case. The court of appeals dismissed the action. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s argument that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict him without a jury lacked merit; (2) Appellant had adequate remedies in the ordinary course of the law; and (3) Appellant’s timely failure to file an affidavit containing each civil action or appeal of a civil action that he had filed in the previous five years mandated dismissal of his petition. View "State ex rel. Walker v. Sloan" on Justia Law

In 2002, Appellant pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. Appellant filed this action in mandamus seeking a writ ordering Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Matia to vacate his sentence under State v. Nolan and resentence him. The court of appeals granted summary judgment in favor of Judge Matia because Appellant was sentenced for attempted murder, not attempted felony murder, and therefore, Nolan did not apply. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals, holding that, under the facts of this case, Appellant was not entitled to a writ of mandamus. View "State ex rel. Tucker v. Matia" on Justia Law