State v. Bridges

2016 Ohio 7298
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 13, 2016
Docket103634 & 104506
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 2016 Ohio 7298 (State v. Bridges) 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. Bridges, 2016 Ohio 7298 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Bridges, 2016-Ohio-7298.]

Court of Appeals of Ohio EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION Nos. 103634 and 104506

STATE OF OHIO PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE

vs.

ANDREY L. BRIDGES DEFENDANT-APPELLANT

JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED

Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. CR-13-574201-A

BEFORE: E.T. Gallagher, J., Jones, A.J., and Kilbane, J.

RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: October 13, 2016 FOR APPELLANT

Andrey L. Bridges, pro se Inmate No. 650493 Lake Erie Correctional Institution P.O. Box 8000 Conneaut, Ohio 44030

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Timothy J. McGinty Cuyahoga County Prosecutor

BY: Anthony Thomas Miranda Assistant Prosecuting Attorney The Justice Center, 9th Floor 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 EILEEN T. GALLAGHER, J.:

{¶1} In this consolidated appeal, defendant-appellant, Andrey L. Bridges

(“Bridges”), appeals pro se from the trial court’s denial of his motion for leave to

file a delayed motion for new trial and his postconviction motion to correct an

error in his conviction. Bridges raises the following six assignments of error for

our review:

1. Appellant’s right to have effective assistance of counsel during trial was violated.

2. Appellant was prejudiced when his actual/factual innocence was on the face of the record.

3. The trial court erred when it denied the defendant’s Motion for Appointment of Private Investigator, thus depriving him of his right to a fair trial and due process guaranteed under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Article I, Section[s] 10 and 16 of the Ohio Constitution.

4. The trial court abused its discretion when it denied his right to a new trial where his filing was supported with documentation and supplements.

5. Appellant was deprived of his right to a fair trial and due process under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 10 and 16 of the Ohio Constitution when he was convicted in violation of a constitutional due process right and equal protection right.

6. Appellant was deprived of due process when his conviction of Offense of Murder pursuant to R.C. 2903.02 should have been voided.

{¶2} After careful review of the record and relevant case law, we affirm. I. Procedural History

{¶3} On November 8, 2013, a jury found Bridges guilty of murder,

felonious assault, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse in relation to the

death of Carl Acoff. Bridges was sentenced to an aggregate term of life in prison

with the possibility of parole after 18 years and six months. Bridges’s convictions

were affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Bridges, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 100805,

2014-Ohio-4570 (“Bridges I”); see State v. Bridges, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No.

100805, 2015-Ohio-1447 (denying Bridges’s application for reopening his

appeal).1

{¶4} On July 23, 2014, Bridges filed a petition for postconviction relief,

arguing (1) he received ineffective assistance of counsel throughout the trial

proceedings, (2) his convictions were not supported by sufficient evidence, and (3)

the state committed prosecutorial misconduct at trial. While Bridges’s direct

appeal was pending, the trial court denied his petition for postconviction relief

without a hearing. The court also issued findings of fact and conclusions of law,

which detailed the reasons for the denial. Bridges appealed these rulings in two

cases, both of which were dismissed for failure to file the record. State v.

Bridges, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga Nos. 101938 (Oct. 1, 2014), and 101942 (Oct. 31,

2014).

1 For a thorough recitation of the facts in this case, see Bridges I at ¶ 4-50. {¶5} In March 18, 2015, Bridges filed a petition to vacate or set aside his

judgment of conviction or sentence, arguing (1) he received ineffective assistance

of counsel throughout the trial proceedings, (2) the trial court lacked subject matter

jurisdiction, (3) he was denied his right to a speedy trial, and (4) the state

committed prosecutorial misconduct at trial. On March 24, 2015, the trial court

denied Bridge’s petition without a hearing.

{¶6} On May 11, 2015, Bridges filed a motion for new trial, arguing (1) his

convictions were not supported by sufficient evidence, (2) the trial court abused its

discretion by admitting prejudicial photographic evidence, and (3) his $5 million

bond was unconstitutional. On May 18, 2015, the trial court denied the motion

without a hearing.

{¶7} On December 24, 2015, this court affirmed the trial court’s denial of

Bridges’s motion for a new trial and his petition to vacate or set aside judgment of

conviction or sentence. State v. Bridges, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga Nos. 102930 and

103090, 2015-Ohio-5428 (“Bridges II”). In affirming the trial court’s judgment,

we determined that Bridges’s motion for new trial was untimely and not based on

newly discovered evidence. Id. at ¶ 10-21. In addition, we concluded that the

claims asserted in Bridges’s postconviction motion to vacate or set aside judgment

of conviction or sentence were barred by res judicata. Id. at ¶ 25-30.

{¶8} While his appeal in Bridges II was pending, Bridges filed a motion for

leave to file a delayed motion for new trial on August 5, 2015, which the trial court denied without a hearing. On May 12, 2016, Bridges filed a “motion for leave

with memorandum in support to correct error R.C. 2903.02(A) conviction due to

insufficient evidence” (“motion to correct error”). On May 17, 2016, the trial

court denied Bridges’s motion without a hearing.

{¶9} Bridges now appeals from the trial court’s denial of his delayed

motion for new trial and his motion to correct error.

II. Law and Analysis

A. Final Appealable Orders — Appeal No. 103634

{¶10} On August 29, 2016, this court sua sponte consolidated Bridges’s

appeals in Appeal Nos.103634 and 104506. Preliminarily, we note that Bridges’s

notice of appeal in Appeal No. 103634 references the following journal entries:

1. The trial court’s September 9, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion to hold in abeyance the defendant’s motion for new trial;

2. The trial court’s September 23, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion for leave to supplement pending instanter of delayed motion for leave to grant motion for new trial;

3. The trial court’s September 23, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion for emergency access to trial transcripts;

4. The trial court’s September 23, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion for leave to file delayed motion for new trial;

5. The trial court’s September 23, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion to supplement his delayed motion for new trial;

6. The trial court’s September 30, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion for leave to supplement police reports and facts to delayed motion for new trial; and 7. The trial court’s October 7, 2015 denial of Bridges’s motion for reconsideration via the defendant’s emergency reply brief in opposition to defendant’s motion for leave to file motion for new trial.

{¶11} According to Article IV, Section 3(B)(2), of the Ohio Constitution, an appellate

court may review timely appeals from final orders of inferior courts. The term “final order” is

defined within R.C. 2505.02. Normally, an order is not final and appealable unless it falls into

one of the categories listed in R.C. 2505.02(B). See Chef Italiano Corp. v. Kent State Univ., 44

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2016 Ohio 7298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bridges-ohioctapp-2016.