State v. Ketterer (Slip Opinion)

2014 Ohio 3973, 18 N.E.3d 1199, 140 Ohio St. 3d 400
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 18, 2014
Docket2011-0093
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 2014 Ohio 3973 (State v. Ketterer (Slip Opinion)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Ketterer (Slip Opinion), 2014 Ohio 3973, 18 N.E.3d 1199, 140 Ohio St. 3d 400 (Ohio 2014).

Opinion

Pfeifer, J.

{¶ 1} This is the third direct appeal arising out of Donald Ketterer’s capital conviction. This appeal concerns his resentencing hearing before a three-judge panel. We find no error and affirm the sentencing order.

*401 Background

{¶ 2} In connection with the death of Lawrence Sanders, Ketterer pled guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and burglary. A three-judge panel convicted Ketterer on all charges. The panel sentenced him to death on the capital charge and to various prison terms for the noncapital offenses, some sentences to run concurrently and others to run consecutively. Butler C.P. No. CR 2003-03-0309 (Feb. 4, 2004).

{¶ 3} We affirmed the convictions and death sentence on direct appeal. 111 Ohio St.3d 70, 2006-Ohio-5283, 855 N.E.2d 48. We later reopened Ketterer’s direct appeal and found that his first appellate counsel had been ineffective for failing to challenge his noncapital sentences under State v. Foster, 109 Ohio St.3d 1, 2006-Ohio-856, 845 N.E.2d 470, at ¶ 71-81, in which we held that the statutory provisions for sentence enhancements for repeat violent offenders and major drug offenders violated the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution because they required the sentencing judge to make findings of fact not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 113 Ohio St.3d 1463, 2007-Ohio-1722, 864 N.E.2d 650. We vacated the noncapital sentences and remanded for resentencing.

{¶ 4} The three-judge panel resentenced Ketterer. On appeal, we again vacated the sentence, this time because the trial court had not properly imposed postrelease control during resentencing. 126 Ohio St.3d 448, 2010-Ohio-3831, 935 N.E.2d 9, ¶ 65-79, 81.

{¶ 5} The three-judge panel issued a new sentencing entry. Ketterer timely appealed to this court, raising five propositions of law, which we now address individually.

Legal analysis

1. Denial of discovery

{¶ 6} On November 29, 2010, following the second remand, Ketterer filed a motion in the trial court for discovery. The panel denied the motion, concluding that Crim.R. 16 did not apply, because the matter was before the court for the limited purpose of correcting the postrelease-control error. See State v. Fischer, 128 Ohio St.3d 92, 2010-Ohio-6238, 942 N.E.2d 332, ¶ 28-29 (when an offender is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because postrelease control had not been properly imposed, the new hearing is limited to proper imposition of postrelease control).

{¶ 7} Ketterer has not alleged that the requested discovery was relevant to the imposition of mandatory postrelease control. In fact, the briefs suggest that Ketterer sought evidence relevant to his guilt on the underlying death specifications. As noted, a limited remand for resentencing does not open the door for a defendant to relitigate the capital proceeding.

*402 {¶ 8} Ketterer argues that even if Fischer and its progeny preclude his discovery request, the state waived this argument by failing to raise it during oral argument on his discovery motion in the trial court. The narrow scope of the remand, however, is a jurisdictional limitation. See State v. Wrenn, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25616, 2011-Ohio-5640, 2011 WL 5301774, ¶ 5, quoting State v. Stiggers, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25486, 2011-Ohio-4225, 2011 WL 3689170, ¶ 6 (“ ‘Because resentencing is limited to the imposition of post-release control, any additional action taken by the trial court with respect to the sentence is a nullity’ ”). And objections to subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be waived. State v. Mbodji, 129 Ohio St.3d 325, 2011-Ohio-2880, 951 N.E.2d 1025, ¶ 10.

{¶ 9} We conclude that discovery was not improperly denied.

2. Merger

{¶ 10} Ketterer argues that the panel erred when it failed to merge the offenses of capital murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. This argument is barred by res judicata.

{¶ 11} In his first appeal, Ketterer argued that aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary are duplicative offenses. 111 Ohio St.3d 70, 2006-Ohio-5283, 855 N.E.2d 48, ¶ 118. We rejected that argument and reaffirmed the rule that “ ‘[aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery are separate offenses and constitute separate aggravating circumstances because they do not arise from the same act.’ ” Id. at ¶ 119, quoting State v. Williams, 74 Ohio St.3d 569, 580, 660 N.E.2d 724 (1996). We also rejected Ketterer’s contention that the aggravated-robbery and aggravated-burglary charges were duplicative of the capital specifications based on aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. Ketterer at ¶ 118.

{¶ 12} After the panel issued its third sentencing entry, we redefined the test for allied offenses. State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153, 2010-Ohio-6314, 942 N.E.2d 1061. Ketterer argues that under Johnson, the capital-murder, aggravated-robbery, and aggravated-burglary charges should have merged. He also argues that res judicata should not apply, because of the subsequent change in law made by Johnson. We disagree.

(¶ 13} New judicial rulings are not “applied retroactively to a conviction that has become final, i.e., where the accused has exhausted all * * * appellate remedies.” Ali v. State, 104 Ohio St.3d 328, 2004-Ohio-6592, 819 N.E.2d 687, ¶ 6. For purposes of retroactivity analysis, Ketterer’s convictions on the noncapital charges became final when this court issued its second decision, which occurred before Johnson was decided. The second remand was solely for the purpose of correcting the error in postrelease control and did not render his original direct appeal a nullity. Fischer, 128 Ohio St.3d 92, 2010-Ohio-6238, 942 N.E.2d 332, ¶ 32, 40.

*403 {¶ 14} We have recognized an exception to the rule against retroactivity in cases in which we address the meaning of a statute for the first time. In that situation, the rule against retroactive application does not apply, because we are not announcing a new rule of law but instead are determining what the relevant statutes have meant since their enactment. Hernandez v. Kelly, 108 Ohio St.3d 395, 2006-Ohio-126, 844 N.E.2d 301, ¶ 23-25; Agee v. Russell, 92 Ohio St.3d 540, 543-544, 751 N.E.2d 1043 (2001). The exception does not apply in this case, because “Johnson did not merely clarify [R.C.] 2941.25, but expressly overruled [prior case law] and changed more than a decade of Ohio allied-offenses jurisprudence.” Volpe v. Trim, 708 F.3d 688, 703 (6th Cir.2013).

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Bluebook (online)
2014 Ohio 3973, 18 N.E.3d 1199, 140 Ohio St. 3d 400, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ketterer-slip-opinion-ohio-2014.