State v. Murphy

2021 Ohio 4541
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided December 27, 2021·No. CA2021-05-048·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO BUTLER COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, :

Appellee, : CASE NO. CA2021-05-048

: OPINION

- vs - 12/27/2021 :

MASTON L. MURPHY, :

Appellant. :

CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM BUTLER COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. CR2021-01-0050

Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney, and Michael Greer, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

Repper-Pagan Law, Ltd., and Christopher J. Pagan, for appellant.

HENDRICKSON, J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, Maston L. Murphy, appeals from his conviction and sentence in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas following his guilty plea to aggravated arson. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand this matter to the trial court for the limited purpose of issuing a nunc pro tunc sentencing entry.

{¶ 2} On February 10, 2021, appellant was indicted on four counts of aggravated

arson in violation of R.C. 2909.02(A)(1), felonies of the first degree, and one count of arson in violation of R.C. 2909.03(A)(1), a felony of the fourth degree. The charges arose out of allegations that on or about January 1, 2021, appellant set fire to a vehicle parked near his wife's home. The fire spread to the home, where appellant's wife, two children, and another male were staying, thereby exposing them to a substantial risk of serious physical harm.

{¶ 3} Appellant initially pled not guilty to the offenses. However, on March 24, 2021, following plea negotiations, appellant pled guilty to one count of aggravated arson, as it related to his wife, in exchange for the state dismissing the remaining charges. The trial court engaged appellant in a Crim.R. 11(C)(2) colloquy and accepted appellant's guilty plea after finding the plea had been knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered. On April 29, 2021, appellant was sentenced to an indefinite prison term of 10 to 15 years and was advised that he would be subject to a mandatory five-year period of postrelease control upon his release. Appellant was further advised that he had to register as an arson offender on the arson registry for the remainder of his life. The court's sentencing entry ordered appellant to pay the "[c]osts of prosecution, supervision and any supervision fees permitted pursuant to Revised Code Section 2929.18(A)(4)."

{¶ 4} Appellant now appeals from his conviction and sentence, raising five assignments of error for review.

{¶ 5} Assignment of Error No. 1:

{¶ 6} THE GUILTY-PLEA COLLOQUY VIOLATED RULE 11(C)(2).

{¶ 7} In his first assignment of error, appellant argues his guilty plea was not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered because he did not understand the nature of the charge to which he pled guilty.

{¶ 8} "'When a defendant enters a plea in a criminal case, the plea must be made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. Failure on any of those points renders enforcement

of the plea unconstitutional under both the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution.'" State v. Tipton, 12th Dist. Madison No. CA2020-05-011, 2021-Ohio-1128, ¶ 10, quoting State v. Engle, 74 Ohio St.3d 525, 527 (1996). "Crim.R. 11(C) prescribes the process that a trial court must use before accepting a plea of guilty to a felony." State v. Bishop, 156 Ohio St.3d 156, 2018-Ohio-5132, ¶ 11. The rule "ensures an adequate record on review by requiring the trial court to personally inform the defendant of his rights and the consequences of his plea and determine if the plea is understandingly and voluntarily made." State v. Stone, 43 Ohio St.2d 163, 168 (1975). This requires the trial court to notify the defendant of the constitutional rights identified in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(c) and to make the required determinations and give the necessary warnings set forth in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(a) and (b). Bishop at ¶ 11, citing State v. Veney, 120 Ohio St.3d 176, 2008-Ohio-5200, ¶ 13.

{¶ 9} Specifically, Crim.R. 11(C)(2) provides that, in felony cases, the trial court may refuse to accept a plea of guilty or a plea of no contest, and shall not accept a plea of guilty or no contest, without first addressing the defendant personally and doing the following:

(a) Determining that the defendant is making the plea voluntarily, with understanding of the nature of the charges and of the maximum penalty involved, and, if applicable, that the defendant is not eligible for probation or for the imposition of community control sanctions at the sentencing hearing.

(b) Informing the defendant of and determining that the defendant understands the effect of the plea of guilty or no contest, and that the court, upon acceptance of the plea, may proceed with judgment and sentence.

(c) Informing the defendant and determining that the defendant understands that by the plea the defendant is waiving the rights to jury trial, to confront witnesses against him or her, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in the defendant's favor, and to require the state to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at a trial at which the defendant cannot be compelled to testify against himself or herself.

{¶ 10} In State v. Dangler, 162 Ohio St.3d 1, 2020-Ohio-2765, "the Ohio Supreme

Court addressed a trial court's compliance with Crim.R. 11(C) and the method of reviewing a trial court's plea colloquy to ensure that a defendant's plea is knowingly and voluntarily entered." State v. Broughton, 12th Dist. Clinton No. CA2020-09-011, 2021-Ohio-2987, ¶ 16. As the Ohio Supreme Court explained, aside from two exceptions, "a defendant is not entitled to have his plea vacated unless he demonstrates he was prejudiced by a failure of the trial court to comply with the provisions of Crim.R. 11(C)." Dangler at ¶ 16. The first exception occurs "[w]hen a trial court fails to explain the constitutional rights [set forth in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(c)] that a defendant waives by pleading guilty or no contest[.]" Id. at ¶ 14. When this occurs, "we presume that the plea was entered involuntarily and unknowingly, and no showing of prejudice is required." Id. The second exception occurs as a result of "a trial court's complete failure to comply with a portion of Crim.R. 11(C)[.]" (Emphasis sic.) Id. at ¶ 15. This, too, "eliminates the defendant's burden to show prejudice." Id. Therefore, as set forth in Dangler, the questions to be answered when reviewing a trial court's plea colloquy under Crim.R. 11(C) are threefold:

(1) has the trial court complied with the relevant provision of the rule? (2) if the trial court has not complied fully with the rule, is the purported failure of a type that excuses a defendant from the burden of demonstrating prejudice? and (3) if a showing of prejudice is required, has the defendant met that burden?

Id. at ¶ 17.

{¶ 11} Appellant contends the trial court failed to comply with Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(a) as the court failed to ensure appellant understood the nature of the charge. In support of his argument, appellant notes that the state did not provide a recitation of the facts at the plea hearing and the trial court did not engage in a "meaningful discussion" of the elements of aggravated arson during the plea colloquy, including the mens rea element of "knowingly" and the element of creating a substantial risk of serious harm. Appellant's arguments are similar to the arguments made by the defendant in State v. Fitzpatrick, 102 Ohio St.3d 321,

2004-Ohio-3167.

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