Crangle v. Kelly

838 F.3d 673, 2016 FED App. 0238P, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 17319, 2016 WL 5219880
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 22, 2016
DocketNo. 14-3447
StatusPublished
Cited by73 cases

This text of 838 F.3d 673 (Crangle v. Kelly) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crangle v. Kelly, 838 F.3d 673, 2016 FED App. 0238P, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 17319, 2016 WL 5219880 (5th Cir. 2016).

Opinions

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

In 2013, Thomas Crangle filed a habeas petition in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. His petition included three ineffective assistance of counsel claims. He also alleged that his plea was constitutionally invalid because it was not made knowingly, intelligently, and with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences. See United States v. Ruiz, 536 U.S. 622, 629, 122 S.Ct. 2450, 153 L.Ed.2d 586 (2002). Specifically, he argued that the state trial court misrepresented his maximum sentence by informing him that he would not be subject to post-release control—even though post-release control was statutorily mandated. See Rue-[675]*675las v. Wolfenbarger, 580 F.3d 403, 408 (6th Cir. 2009). The federal district court dismissed Crangle’s petition as untimely.

On appeal, Crangle contends that, because the state-court order imposing post-release control whs a new judgment, his petition was timely under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). He also argues that his petition was timely under § 2244(d)(1)(D). We conclude that the state-court order was a new judgment that reset AEDPA’s one-year statute of limitations and thus REVERSE the federal district court’s order and REMAND for further proceedings. We do not reach Crangle’s arguments with regard to § 2244(d)(1)(D).

I. BACKGROUND

In November 2006, an Ohio grand jury indicted Thomas Crangle for rape of a minor, kidnapping, and gross sexual imposition. Crangle initially pled not guilty. In February 2007, he agreed to plead guilty to one count of rape with a recommended sentence of life imprisonment and parole eligibility after ten years. In signing the plea agreement, Crangle acknowledged, “I have been informed that if I am imprisoned, after my release from prison I [May_ or Will_] be supervised under post-release control, R.C. 2967.28, which could last up to 5 years,” with a checkmark entered after “Will.” At the sentencing hearing, however, the state court judge and Crangle’s own attorney incorrectly informed him that he would be subject to “straight parole” and not post-release control. The sentencing entry also did not indicate that Crangle would be subject to post-release control, despite the conflicting provision in his plea.agreement.

Crangle filed a notice of appeal in December 2007. On direct appeal, he argued that his counsel provided ineffective assistance by encouraging him to plead guilty rather than no contest to the rape charge. The Ohio court of appeals upheld the trial court’s judgment on November 5, 2008. Because Crangle did not appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, his conviction became final 45 days later, on December 20, 2008.

A. Crangle’s state challenges to his conviction and sentence.

On June 16, 2010—over a year after Crangle’s conviction became final—the Ohio Supreme Court decided State ex rel. Carnail v. McCormick, 126 Ohio St.3d 124, 931 N.E.2d 110 (Ohio 2010). In Camail, the trial judge sentenced the defendant to life in prison with possibility of parole after ten years, but “failed to include in the sentencing entry any term of postrelease control.” Id. at 124, 931 N.E.2d at 111-12. On appeal, the defendant argued that his sentence was “void because it did not include postrelease control for his rape convictions.” Id. at 125, 931 N.E.2d at 112. A majority of the Ohio Supreme Court agreed, holding that the postrelease control “statute’s plaip, unambiguous language expressly requires the inclusion of a mandatory postrelease-control term of five years for each prison sentence for felonies of the first degree and felony sex offenses”—even for indefinite or .life sentences. Id. at 126-27, 931 N.E.2d at 113-14. The Court thus “grant[ed] a writ of mandamus to compel [the trial judge], to issue a sentencing entry that complie[d] with the postrelease-control provisions.” Id. at 131, 931 N.E.2d at 117.

On August 1, 2010, Crangle obtained a copy of Camail from the prison library. Four days later, he filed pro se motions to withdraw his guilty plea and, based on Camail, “to sentence him. to a lawful sentence, properly imposing post-release control.” He argued that his “guilty plea was not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily[ ] made” because “he was not ... cor[676]*676rectly advised of post-release control sanctions.”

On November 16, 2010, the trial court denied Crangle’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. It also “orderfed] a correction to the judgment of conviction be filed NUNC PRO TUNC ... to include five (5) years mandatory post release sanctions.” Whereas Crangle’s plea agreement stated that the post-release control could last “up to 5 years,” the new judgment of conviction provided that Crangle “shall be supervised on post-release control by the Adult Parole Authority for a mandatory period of 5 years after being released from prison.” It also set out sanctions that could be imposed if Crangle “violate[d] the terms and conditions of postrelease control.” The order was backdated to Cran-gle’s initial sentencing in November 2007.

Crangle appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In a split decision, the court of appeals affirmed in November 2011. The Ohio Supreme Court denied leave to appeal on April 4, 2012.

In July 2012, Crangle filed a pro se delayed application to reopen his direct appeal, arguing that his delay should be excused because he could not have discovered the sentencing error before Carnail. The court of appeals held that Crangle "ha[d]not demonstrated good cause for his untimely filing” and denied Crangle’s application to reopen. The Ohio Supreme Court denied leave to appeal in January 2013.

In March 2013, Crangle filed a pro se motion in the Ohio Supreme Court for leave to file a delayed appeal from the November 2008 decision upholding his conviction. The Ohio Supreme Court denied this motion in May 2013.

B. Crangle’s federal habeas petition.

Crangle placed a federal habeas petition in the prison mailing system on March 28, 2013, which was docketed on April 15, 2013. He alleged that he had received ineffective- assistance of counsel under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because: his trial counsel had advised him to enter a plea of guilty rather than no contest; his trial counsel had misinformed him about whether post-release control would be imposed; and his appellate counsel had failed to raise the sentencing error on direct appeal. He also alleged that the trial court violated his due process rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments by misrepresenting his sentence and accepting his guilty plea.

In March 2014, the federal district court dismissed Crangle’s habeas petition as untimely.

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Bluebook (online)
838 F.3d 673, 2016 FED App. 0238P, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 17319, 2016 WL 5219880, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crangle-v-kelly-ca5-2016.