State v. Hoffman

2024 Ohio 3372

• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals
• Decided: September 3, 2024
• Docket: 2024-T-0058
• Status: Published

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Hoffman, 2024-Ohio-3372.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT TRUMBULL COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, CASE NO. 2024-T-0058

Plaintiff-Appellee, Civil Appeal from the - vs - Court of Common Pleas

COREY D. HOFFMAN, Trial Court No. 2021 CR 00911 Defendant-Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Decided: September 3, 2024 Judgment: Appeal dismissed

Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County Prosecutor, Administration Building, Fourth Floor, 160 High Street, N.W., Warren, OH 44481 (For Plaintiff-Appellee).

John B. Juhasz, 7081 West Boulevard, Suite 4, Youngstown, OH 44512 (For Defendant- Appellant).

MARY JANE TRAPP, J.

{¶1} On July 26, 2024, appellant, Corey D. Hoffman, through counsel, filed a

notice of appeal from the trial court’s June 24, 2024 judgment entry dismissing appellant’s

petition for postconviction relief.

{¶2} App.R. 4(A)(1) states that “a party who wishes to appeal from an order that

is final upon its entry shall file the notice of appeal required by App.R. 3 within 30 days of

that entry.” {¶3} Furthermore, postconviction proceedings are considered civil in nature.

State v. Nichols, 11 Ohio St.3d 40, 40-42 (1984); see also State v. Jones, 2021-Ohio-

1696, ¶ 6 (11th Dist.).

{¶4} App.R. 4(A)(3) states, in relevant part:

{¶5} “In a civil case, if the clerk has not completed service of notice of the

judgment within the three-day period prescribed in Civ.R. 58(B), the 30-day periods

referenced in App.R. 4(A)(1) and 4(A)(2) begin to run on the date when the clerk actually

completes service.”

{¶6} Here, there is a notation on the docket reflecting the clerk mailed a copy of

the June 24, 2024 entry to appellant, care of counsel, on June 24, 2024, which is within

the three-day period prescribed in Civ.R. 58(B). Therefore, a timely notice of appeal from

the June 24, 2024 entry was due no later than July 24, 2024, which was not a holiday or

weekend. The appeal is untimely by two days. The time requirement for filing a notice

of appeal is jurisdictional in nature and may not be enlarged by an appellate court. State

ex rel. Pendell v. Adams Cty. Bd. of Elections, 40 Ohio St.3d 58, 60 (1988); see also

App.R. 14(B).

{¶7} Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed, sua sponte, as untimely.

MATT LYNCH, J.,

JOHN J. EKLUND, J.,

concur.

Case No. 2024-T-0058