State v. Barnett

596 N.E.2d 1101, 73 Ohio App. 3d 244, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 1822
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 22, 1991
DocketNo. 10451.
StatusPublished
Cited by230 cases

This text of 596 N.E.2d 1101 (State v. Barnett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Barnett, 596 N.E.2d 1101, 73 Ohio App. 3d 244, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 1822 (Ohio Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

Grady, Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Charles T. Barnett appeals his conviction for the offense of aggravated robbery, alleging that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty. Appellee, state of Ohio, has failed to file a brief. For reasons discussed below, defendant-appellant’s first assignment of error will be overruled and the second assignment of error sustained.

I

Facts

On December 29, 1986, defendant-appellant Barnett was arrested on a warrant issued by Dayton Municipal Court and incarcerated on a charge of aggravated robbery in violation of R.C. 2911.01. He failed to post bond and remained incarcerated and in the custody of the Sheriff of Montgomery County from that date through his subsequent indictment, conviction, and sentencing.

*247 On January 20, 1987, Barnett was indicted on two charges of aggravated robbery, one alleging by specification a prior aggravated felony and the other alleging by specification a prior aggravated felony and the use of a firearm. On January 28, 1987, counsel was appointed to represent Barnett. On February 3, 1987, a plea of not guilty was entered.

According to appellant’s statement of the facts, 1 he was not satisfied with plea negotiations by his appointed counsel. Upon discovering that his counsel had made no preparation for trial, appellant asked counsel to withdraw from the representation, which he did. Second counsel was appointed to represent appellant on April 8, 1987.

Second counsel advised appellant that trial had been set for April 14, 1987, and that he did not have adequate time to prepare for trial. Appellant states that he asked his second counsel to obtain a continuance, if possible, and to take action in respect to his rights to a speedy trial. The day following that conversation counsel advised appellant the court would not extend the April 14, 1987 trial date unless appellant waived his right to speedy trial, which he refused to do.

On April 13, 1987, Barnett waived his right to trial by jury and entered a plea of guilty to the offense of aggravated robbery with the prior aggravated felony specification as alleged in Count II of the indictment. The firearm specification of that count was deleted and the aggravated robbery charged in the other count was dismissed. Sentencing was continued for a presentence investigation.

Appellant asserts in his brief that after his plea and prior to his sentencing he sent a letter to the trial judge stating that he was dissatisfied with his plea and wanted to withdraw it. The record contains no evidence of that letter.

On April 20, 1987, appellant was brought before the court for sentencing. The following exchange then occurred between the court and appellant:

“THE COURT: Do you have anything you want to say about the sentence?

“THE DEFENDANT: Yes. I would like to know why my request is being denied.

“THE COURT: I don’t think there is any merit to it. Your rights were explained to you. You admitted you did these things and you pled guilty to it, and I don’t think there’s any merit to allowing you to withdraw your plea. Mr. Divine is one of the better attorneys we have. You just don’t have any right to jerk the system around.

*248 “THE DEFENDANT: I am not entitled to any type of consideration?

“THE COURT: You’ve gotten the consideration that you’re entitled to.

“The Court will sentence you to an indeterminate period of 12 to 25 years.”

A termination entry of sentencing was filed May 4, 1987, and on that same date Barnett filed his notice of appeal.

II

Effective Assistance of Counsel

Appellant claims that he was denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel in two respects. First, he argues that he was forced to enter a plea of guilty because his second counsel had too little time to prepare for trial, rendering his plea involuntary. Second, he argues that he was prejudiced because neither counsel filed a motion for a discharge for lack of a speedy trial pursuant to R.C. 2945.73.

In determining whether counsel was constitutionally ineffective, the central issue in any case is whether an accused had a fair trial and substantial justice was done. State v. Hester (1976), 45 Ohio St.2d 71, 74 O.O.2d 156, 341 N.E.2d 304. An accused is denied his right to a fair trial if his counsel fails to play the role necessary to ensure that the accused enjoys the benefits of the adversarial process which the law affords him for testing the charges brought by the state. Strickland v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674.

A plea of guilty constitutes a complete admission of guilt. Crim.R. 11(B)(1). “By entering a plea of guilty, the accused is not simply stating that he did the discrete acts described in the indictment; he is admitting guilt of a substantive crime.” United State v. Broce (1989), 488 U.S. 563, 570, 109 S.Ct. 757, 762, 102 L.Ed.2d 927, 936. The plea renders irrelevant those constitutional violations not logically inconsistent with the valid establishment of factual guilt. Menna v. New York (1975), 423 U.S. 61, 96 S.Ct. 241, 46 L.Ed.2d 195.

When a defendant enters a plea of guilty as a part of a plea bargain he waives all appealable errors which may have occurred at trial, unless such errors are shown to have precluded the defendant from entering a knowing and voluntary plea. State v. Kelley (1991), 57 Ohio St.3d 127, 566 N.E.2d 658. “A failure by counsel to provide advice [which impairs the knowing and voluntary nature of the plea] may form the basis of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, but absent such a claim it cannot serve the predicate for setting aside a valid plea.” United States v. Broce, supra, 488 U.S. at 574, 109 S.Ct. at 765, 102 L.Ed.2d at 939.

*249 On the basis of the foregoing, it is clear that a plea of guilty waives the right to claim that the accused was prejudiced by constitutionally ineffective counsel, except to the extent the defects complained of caused the plea to be less than knowing and voluntary.

Appellant’s argument that he was forced to plead guilty because his counsel failed to prepare for trial raises an issue concerning the voluntariness of his plea. However, determination of that issue necessarily depends on matters not in the record before us. We decline to accept appellant’s statement of them, even though appellee has not filed a brief, as they concern appellant’s private conversations with counsel and could not be a part of the trial record in this case.

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Bluebook (online)
596 N.E.2d 1101, 73 Ohio App. 3d 244, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 1822, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barnett-ohioctapp-1991.