State v. King

920 N.E.2d 399, 184 Ohio App. 3d 226
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 3, 2009
DocketNo. 91909
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 920 N.E.2d 399 (State v. King) 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. King, 920 N.E.2d 399, 184 Ohio App. 3d 226 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

Larry A. Jones, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Karlene King, appeals her conviction and sentence. Finding some merit to the appeal, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

{¶ 2} In April 2001, King was charged in case No. CR-409062 with forgery, uttering, and possession of criminal tools. In June 2001, the trial court issued a capias for King’s arrest. In October 2002, King, who was in prison for an unrelated matter, filed a notice of untried indictment and request to be returned from prison for disposition of her case, pursuant to R.C. 2941.401. The lower court case file shows that the trial court ordered King’s return from prison. The record does not reflect, however, whether King was ever returned from prison. The next docket entry is an order dated January 23, 2006, stating that King’s capias was still active. Thus, the record does not show what, if anything, happened in the case between October 2002 and January 2006.

{¶ 3} In January 2006, King was charged in case No. CR-474651 with identity fraud, receiving stolen property, misuse of credit cards, and obstructing official business. Service was sent to King’s last known address but returned to the court unclaimed. On January 23, 2006, the court issued a capias for her arrest.

{¶ 4} In October 2006, King was charged in case No. CR-487580 with 21 counts of theft, two counts of identity fraud, two counts of possession of criminal tools, 28 counts of misuse of credit cards, and 28 counts of receiving stolen property. Again, the trial court issued a capias. King was finally arraigned on all three cases in October 2007 and entered pleas of not guilty.

[231]*231{¶ 5} In May 2008, King pleaded guilty to the indictments in all three cases. The trial court sentenced her to a total of 17 years, 11 months in prison.1

{¶ 6} King now appeals, raising six assignments of error for our review. In the first assignment of error, King argues that she was denied due process because she was not timely notified of the pending charges. In the second assignment of error, King argues that she was not properly advised of postrelease control. In the third assignment of error, King argues that she was denied due process because the trial court failed to consider whether her offenses should be merged for the purposes of sentencing. In the fourth assignment of error, King argues that the trial court accepted her plea without determining whether she understood the ramifications of her federal parole. In the fifth assignment of error, King argues that the trial court arbitrarily sentenced her to 17-Jé years in prison. Finally, King argues that she was denied the effective assistance of trial counsel.

Postindictment Delay

{¶ 7} In the first assignment of error, King claims that her due process rights and right to a speedy trial were violated because law-enforcement officials failed to exercise due diligence in notifying her of pending charges in CR-409062. Within this assignment of error, King also argues that she was denied a speedy trial in her other two cases.

{¶ 8} We first note that King faded to raise any of these issues with the trial court. A reviewing court’s analysis is generally limited to reviewing issues raised on appeal solely for plain error or defects affecting a defendant’s substantial rights pursuant to Crim.R. 52(B). State v. Tisdale (Dec. 17, 1998), Cuyahoga App. No. 74331, 1998 WL 895279. The plain-error doctrine should be invoked by an appellate court only in exceptional circumstances to prevent a miscarriage of justice. State v. Cooperrider (1983), 4 Ohio St.3d 226, 227, 4 OBR 580, 448 N.E.2d 452. Plain error will be recognized only where, but for the error, the outcome of the case would clearly have been different. Id.

{¶ 9} Secondly, King pleaded guilty to the indictments in all three cases. A defendant who pleads guilty is limited on appeal; generally, she may only attack the voluntary, knowing, and intelligent nature of the plea and may not raise independent claims relating to the deprivation of constitutional rights that occurred prior to the entry of the plea. See State v. Sadowsky, Cuyahoga App. [232]*232Nos. 90696 and 91796, 2009-Ohio-341, 2009 WL 205335; see also State v. Kelley (1991), 57 Ohio St.3d 127, 566 N.E.2d 658; Stacy v. Van Coren (1969), 18 Ohio St.2d 188, 47 O.O.2d 397, 248 N.E.2d 603; State v. Salter, Cuyahoga App. No. 82488, 2003-Ohio-5652, 2003 WL 22413518. Additionally, once a defendant enters a valid guilty plea, the defendant waives any right to challenge a conviction on statutory speedy-trial grounds. Kelley, at paragraph one of the syllabus.

{¶ 10} As discussed below under the second and fourth assignments of error, King’s plea was voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently made and therefore valid. Accordingly, because she entered a valid guilty plea, she has waived her right to raise a statutory speedy-trial violation. See State v. Ennist, Cuyahoga App. No. 90076, 2008-Ohio-5100, 2008 WL 4439105. That being said, the Ohio Supreme Court has held that a defendant who enters a guilty plea does not waive her constitutional right to a speedy trial. State v. Branch (1983), 9 Ohio App.3d 160, 162, 9 OBR 226, 458 N.E.2d 1287. Therefore, while a defendant who pleads guilty generally may not raise independent claims relating to the deprivation of her constitutional rights prior to entering her guilty plea, an exception to that general rule is created when a defendant claims that her constitutional speedy-trial rights were violated. Accordingly, we will review for plain error whether King’s constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated.

{¶ 11} The Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution guarantee a criminal defendant a speedy trial by the state. State v. Ladd (1978), 56 Ohio St.2d 197, 200, 10 O.O.3d 363, 383 N.E.2d 579. Additionally, Section 10, Article I of the Ohio Constitution provides that all criminal defendants have a right to a speedy trial. The Constitutions do not specify any timeline required to ensure the protection of this right.

{¶ 12} R.C. 2945.71(C)(2) provides that a criminal defendant, charged with a felony, shall be brought to trial within 270 days of her arrest. R.C. 2945.72(A) extends that time when “the accused is unavailable for hearing or trial, by reason of other criminal proceedings against him, within or outside the state, by reason of his confinement in another state, or by reason of the pendency of extradition proceedings, provided that the prosecution exercises reasonable diligence to secure his availability.”

{¶ 13} The United States Supreme Court enunciated the test for a violation of a defendant’s constitutional right to a speedy trial in Barker v. Wingo (1972), 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101. In Barker, the court held that the test includes considering (1) the length of the delay, (2) the reason for the delay, (3) the defendant’s assertion of her right to a speedy trial, and (4) the prejudice to the defendant. Id. at 530-532, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101; see also State v. Triplett (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 566, 679 N.E.2d 290. The length of the delay is the “triggering mechanism” that determines the necessity of inquiry into the other [233]*233factors. Barker at 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
920 N.E.2d 399, 184 Ohio App. 3d 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-king-ohioctapp-2009.