State v. Gilcreast

2020 Ohio 1207
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 31, 2020
Docket29347
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2020 Ohio 1207 (State v. Gilcreast) 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. Gilcreast, 2020 Ohio 1207 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Gilcreast, 2020-Ohio-1207.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 29347

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE KEITH L. GILCREAST COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellant CASE No. CR 02 11 3315(B)

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: March 31, 2020

TEODOSIO, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Appellant, Keith L. Gilcreast, appeals from the judgment of the Summit County

Court of Common Pleas. This Court affirms, but remands the matter back to the trial court for

further proceedings.

I.

{¶2} A jury found Mr. Gilcreast guilty of felony murder along with a slew of other

felonies and misdemeanors, and the trial court ultimately sentenced him to 46 years to life in

prison. On appeal, this Court affirmed in part, but recognized that the trial court had not made the

appropriate statutory findings necessary for consecutive sentences under R.C. 2929.14(E)(4), and

thus reversed in part and remanded the matter back to the trial court for resentencing. See State v.

Gilcreast, 9th Dist. Summit No. 21533, 2003-Ohio-7177, ¶ 66-67.

{¶3} Upon remand, the trial court held a hearing and listed its findings for consecutive

sentences on the record, pursuant to R.C. 2929.14(E)(4). Mr. Gilcreast appealed from the court’s 2

journal entry, but this Court dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See State v. Gilcreast,

9th Dist. Summit No. 22207 (Mar. 7, 2005). Although the trial court’s order listed its findings for

consecutive sentences, it was not a final, appealable order because the court failed to impose a

sentence. See id. More than a decade later, Mr. Gilcreast filed a motion to “revise/correct” the

trial court’s entry, which the trial court denied. He appealed the court’s decision, and this Court

affirmed. See State v. Gilcreast, 9th Dist. Summit No. 27804, 2015-Ohio-4745.

{¶4} Mr. Gilcreast filed additional motions in the trial court, including a motion for

resentencing, in which he argued that he was improperly notified of the consequences of violating

post-release control and that his sentencing entry did not comply with the Supreme Court of Ohio’s

decision in State v. Grimes, 151 Ohio St.3d 19, 2017-Ohio-2927. The State agreed, and the trial

court scheduled a hearing to properly inform Mr. Gilcreast of post-release control. See R.C.

2929.191(C). Mr. Gilcreast remained in prison, but he attended the hearing via video conferencing

equipment. After speaking to two different attorneys, he elected to proceed pro se, and the trial

court notified him of post-release control while standby counsel remained present in the

courtroom.

{¶5} Mr. Gilcreast now appeals from the trial court’s entry informing him of post-release

control and raises five assignments of error for this Court’s review.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR ONE

THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION AND ERRED TO THE SUBSTANTIAL PREJUDICE OF THE DEFENDANT-APPELLANT BY NOT PROVIDING A MEANINGFUL DIALOG[UE] FROM WHICH THE COURT COULD CONCLUDE APPELLANT WAIVED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL[LY] PROTECTED RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN A VOLUNTARY, INTELLIGENT AND KNOWING MANNER. 3

{¶6} In his first assignment of error, Mr. Gilcreast argues that the trial court erred in

failing to engage him in the proper colloquy to determine if his waiver of counsel was made

knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. We disagree.

{¶7} “The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: ‘In all criminal

prosecutions, the accused shall * * * have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.’” State v.

Martin, 103 Ohio St.3d 385, 2004-Ohio-5471, ¶ 22. Accord Article I, Section 10, Ohio

Constitution. This constitutional right applies to all critical stages of criminal proceedings. State

v. Schleiger, 141 Ohio St.3d 67, 2014-Ohio-3970, ¶ 13. Because post-release control terms are

part of the actual sentence, a resentencing hearing held for the limited purpose of properly

imposing statutorily mandated post-release control is considered a critical stage of a criminal

proceeding. Id. at ¶ 15. Although such hearings simply require the trial court to adhere to R.C.

2929.191, counsel’s presence ensures that the court complies with the directives of the statute, that

it does not exceed the scope of the hearing, that the defendant understands the imposition of post-

release control, and that issues are properly preserved for appellate review. Id. at ¶ 16.

{¶8} The structure of the Sixth Amendment also implicitly provides a constitutional right

to self-representation, as “[t]he right to defend is given directly to the accused; for it is he who

suffers the consequences if the defense fails.” Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 819-820 (1975).

A defendant may proceed to defend himself without counsel when he knowingly, intelligently, and

voluntarily elects to do so. State v. Gibson, 45 Ohio St.2d 366 (1976), paragraph one of the

syllabus.

{¶9} In order to establish an effective waiver of the right to counsel, the trial court must

make a sufficient inquiry to determine whether the defendant fully understands and intelligently

relinquishes that right. Id. at paragraph two of the syllabus. While there is no formula or script 4

that a trial court must follow in every case in order to comport with the requirements of the Sixth

Amendment, a waiver of counsel is intelligent, for example, when a defendant “‘knows what he is

doing and his choice is made with eyes open.’” State v. Tucker, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 13CA010339,

2016-Ohio-1353, ¶ 11, quoting Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269, 279 (1942).

The Supreme Court of Ohio has stated that the information a defendant must possess in order to

make an intelligent election will depend on a range of case-specific factors, including the

defendant’s education or sophistication, the complex or easily grasped nature of the charge, and

the stage of the proceeding. See Schleiger at ¶ 19. The high court further defined the scope of the

right to counsel by a pragmatic assessment of the usefulness of counsel to the accused at the

particular proceeding, and the dangers to the accused of proceeding without counsel. See id. In

determining the sufficiency of the trial court’s inquiry, we review the totality of the circumstances.

State v. Trikilis, 9th Dist. Medina Nos. 04CA0096-M and 04CA0097-M, 2005-Ohio-4266, ¶ 13.

We review whether a defendant has made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his right

to counsel de novo. State v. Ott, 9th Dist. Summit No. 27953, 2017-Ohio-521, ¶ 5.

{¶10} Moreover, Crim.R. 44(C) provides that a “[w]aiver of counsel shall be in open court

and the advice and waiver shall be recorded as provided in Rule 22.” In “serious offense” cases,

e.g., felony cases, the waiver shall also be in writing. Crim.R. 44(C); Crim.R. 2(C). Nevertheless,

a written waiver of counsel is not a substitute for compliance with Crim.R. 44(C), which requires

an oral waiver in open court before the judge, recorded in accordance with Crim.R. 22. See

Cuyahoga Falls v. Simich, 5 Ohio App.3d 10, 12 (9th Dist.1982); State v. Haag, 49 Ohio App.2d

268, 270 (9th Dist.1976). See also State v. Engle, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 22455, 2009-Ohio-

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2020 Ohio 1207, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gilcreast-ohioctapp-2020.