State v. Lambrecht

590 N.E.2d 765, 69 Ohio App. 3d 256, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 3791
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 31, 1990
DocketNo. L-89-324.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 590 N.E.2d 765 (State v. Lambrecht) 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. Lambrecht, 590 N.E.2d 765, 69 Ohio App. 3d 256, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 3791 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Appellant, Richard Lambrecht, has filed this appeal from an October 2,1989 findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment entry filed in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. The judgment entry appealed from denied appellant’s motion for post-conviction relief. Appellant has previously sought relief from this court. As we noted in our July 21, 1989 decision and journal entry, this case began on November 5, 1986 when appellant was indicted for one count of trafficking in drugs, a violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(2). Appellant, accompanied by counsel, entered a plea of guilty to the trafficking charge on March 5, 1987. Appellant received a sentence of three to fifteen years in a state penal institution and was fined $7,500. Appellant filed a direct appeal to this court, challenging the constitutionality of the sentence rendered. This court affirmed the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. Appellant then filed a petition for post-conviction relief in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. The Lucas County Court of Common Pleas ruled that appellant was not entitled to post-conviction relief because of res judicata. Appellant then appealed to this court, and we reversed the lower court’s ruling and remanded the petition for post-conviction relief for further consideration. State v. Lambrecht (1989), 58 Ohio App.3d 86, 568 N.E.2d 743. The basis for this court’s July 21, 1989 decision and journal entry was that res judicata did not apply to bar consideration of appellant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel since appellant did not have the opportunity to raise the claim at trial or on direct appeal. Id. at 87, 568 N.E.2d at 744.

On remand, appellant filed an affidavit of bias and prejudice requesting that the judge involved in the original sentencing and post-conviction relief denial be barred from considering the petition for post-conviction relief on remand. *258 The Supreme Court of Ohio granted the request after the original judge agreed to recuse himself.

A new judge, appointed to consider appellant’s petition, also denied appellant’s request for post-conviction relief. Appellant brings this appeal from the denial of his post-conviction relief.

Appellant raises four assignments of error, which state:

“1. Appellant was denied the effective assistance of counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution as it apply [sic ] to the state [sic] through the fourteenth amendment. And that appellant present evidentiary matter dehor[s] the record and that appellant should have had an evidentiary hearing pursuant to R.C. 2953.21(E).

“2. That the trial court abused its discretion by sentencing the appellant contrary to law in that it coerced the appellant into pleading to the elements of the crime charged, knowing that the appellant had raised an affirmative defense to the charge. That appellant [sic ] plea could not have been knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently entered.

“3. That the trial judge and defense counsel conspired against the appellant in order to get the appellant to admit to the elements of the crime charged. Knowing that appellant had raised an Affirmative defense [sic].

“4. The trial court abused its discretion in ruling on appellant [sic ] petition for post conviction relief, the court erred in not noticing its error under criminal rule 52(B), the court erred in that it determined there would be no prejudicial effect on the rights of appellant as well as where it determined that no evidentiary hearing should not be granted to appellant.”

The essence of appellant’s assignments of error is that appellant received ineffective assistance of counsel, which resulted in his guilty plea not being voluntarily and intelligently entered. Because appellant entered a plea of guilty, which was accepted at trial, appellant is limited to raising only two issues on appeal. The issues which appellant can raise are: (1) whether the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to accept the plea; and (2) whether the plea was made knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently as required by Crim.R. 11. State v. Burgette (Mar. 23, 1990), Lucas App. No. L-89-146, unreported, at 6, 1990 WL 31763. We will consider appellant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel only as it relates to one of the two issues listed above. Since appellant’s arguments are interwoven in all four assignments of error, the assignments of error will be considered together.

Appellant raises four main arguments to support his assertion that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. First, appellant argues that his attorney should have raised the affirmative defense that the drugs in appel *259 lant’s possession were for his own use. Second, appellant claims that his attorney should have ascertained that appellant was drug dependent at the time of trial, and that the failure to do so prejudiced appellant’s defense. Third, appellant claims that he was coerced by the court and his attorney into pleading guilty to a serious crime without thorough knowledge of the consequences. And fourth, appellant claims that the trial court abused its discretion by denying appellant’s petition for post-conviction relief without conducting an evidentiary hearing on the aforementioned issues.

When evaluating appellant’s arguments, we must follow a two-step process established by the Supreme Court of Ohio to determine whether an individual has been denied effective assistance of counsel. The Supreme Court of Ohio has stated:

“ ‘First, there must be a determination as to whether there has been a substantial violation of any of defense counsel’s essential duties to his client. Next * * * there must be a determination as to whether the defense was prejudiced by counsel’s ineffectiveness.’ ” State v. Jackson (1980), 64 Ohio St.2d 107, 110, 18 O.O.3d 348, 350, 413 N.E.2d 819, 822, quoting State v. Lytle (1976), 48 Ohio St.2d 391, 396-397, 2 O.O.3d 495, 497-498, 358 N.E.2d 623, 626-627, vacated on other grounds (1978), 438 U.S. 910, 98 S.Ct. 3135, 57 L.Ed.2d 1154.

Appellant bears the initial burden of proof to demonstrate that both parts of the test are satisfied, and must produce evidentiary documents to satisfy the burden of proof. State v. Jackson, supra, 64 Ohio St.2d at 111, 18 O.O.3d at 350, 413 N.E.2d at 822,

Appellant’s first argument is that his attorney violated an essential duty to him when the attorney failed to raise an affirmative defense which appellant asserts was available to him. The affirmative defense appellant relies on is found in R.C. 2925.03(F), which states in pertinent part:

“It shall be an affirmative defense * * * to a charge under this section for possessing a bulk amount of a controlled substance or for cultivating marihuana that the substance which gave rise to the charge is in such amount * * * as to indicate that the substance was solely for personal use.” (Emphasis added.)

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Related

State v. Wright, Unpublished Decision (6-17-2005)
2005 Ohio 3055 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
590 N.E.2d 765, 69 Ohio App. 3d 256, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 3791, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lambrecht-ohioctapp-1990.