State v. Poland

475 N.E.2d 794, 16 Ohio App. 3d 303, 16 Ohio B. 335, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12384
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 26, 1984
Docket47175 and 47176
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 475 N.E.2d 794 (State v. Poland) 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. Poland, 475 N.E.2d 794, 16 Ohio App. 3d 303, 16 Ohio B. 335, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12384 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

Markus, P.J.

Defendant appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief from convictions on guilty pleas for three counts of drug trafficking and one count of receiving stolen property. He complains that the court refused him an evidentiary hearing on his allegation that those pleas resulted from his counsel’s false assurances and threats. Defendant has failed to demonstrate substantive grounds for relief, so we affirm.

The grand jury indicted defendant for fifty-six counts of drug law offenses and one count of receiving stolen property. Defendant retained two attorneys to represent him. After negotiations, counsel reported that the state and the defendant had agreed upon a plea bargain. The state would dismiss fifty-three felony counts if defendant pled guilty to four specified counts and surrendered his medical licenses and authority to dispense or prescribe drugs. After determining that defendant’s pleas were made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily, the court accepted those pleas and requested a presentence investigation. After receiving that report, the court sentenced defendant to concurrent terms of one to five years on the four felony counts and denied probation.

In the memorandum accompanying his post-conviction petition, defendant asserted that his trial attorneys told him he would receive probation if he pled guilty. He further alleged that his attorneys told him that professional witnesses would lie under oath against him at trial. However, defendant submitted no evidentiary materials to support these allegations. The trial court denied the petition without an eviden-tiary hearing, finding no substantial grounds for relief in the petition.

Defendant assigns two related errors:

'T. Appellant was denied the effective assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of [sic] the United States Constitution as applied under the Fourteenth Amendment.
“II. The trial court erred in denying the petition for post conviction relief without a hearing wherein the constitutional issue could not be determined from the records.”

R.C. 2953.21 states in part:

“(A) Any person convicted of a criminal offense or adjudged delinquent claiming that there was such a denial or infringement of his rights as to render the judgment void or voidable under the Ohio Constitution or the Constitution of the United States, may file a verified petition at any time in the court which imposed sentence, stating the grounds for relief relied upon, and asking the court to vacate or set aside the judgment or sentence or to grant other appropriate relief. The petitioner may file such supporting affidavit and other documentary evidence as will support his claim for relief.
*305 <<* * *
“(C) Before granting a hearing the court shall determine whether there are substantive grounds for relief. In making such a determination, the court shall consider, in addition to the petition and supporting affidavits, all the files and records pertaining to the proceedings against the petitioner, including but not limited to the indictment, the court’s journal entries, the journalized records of the clerk of court, and the court reporter’s transcript. ****’’

In State v. Jackson (1980), 64 Ohio St. 2d 107, 111 [18 O.O.3d 348], the court stated:

“Before a hearing is granted, the petitioner bears the initial burden in a post-conviction proceeding to submit evidentiary documents containing sufficient operative facts to demonstrate the lack of competent counsel and also that the defense was prejudiced by counsel’s ineffectiveness. [Emphasis sic.]
“Broad assertions without a further demonstration of prejudice do not warrant a hearing for all post-conviction petitions. General conclusory allegations to the effect that a defendant has been denied effective assistance of counsel are inadequate as a matter of law to impose an evidentiary hearing.”

See, also, State v. Heard (Jan. 20, 1983), Cuyahoga App. No. 44913, unreported.

In State v. Kapper (1983), 5 Ohio St. 3d 36, 38, the court reached the same conclusion for post-conviction claims that guilty pleas resulted from false promises or threats:

“* * * The state offers the following rationale to support the analogous application of Jackson in the guilty plea context:
“ ‘As in the case of ineffective assistance of counsel, an allegation of a coerced guilty plea involves actions over which the State has no control. Therefore, the defendant must bear the initial burden of submitting affidavits or other supporting materials to indicate that he is entitled to relief. Defendant’s own self-serving declarations or affidavits alleging a coerced guilty plea are insufficient to rebut the record on review which shows that his plea was voluntary. A letter or affidavit from the court, prosecutors or defense counsel alleging a defect in the plea process may be sufficient to rebut the record on review and require an evidentiary hearing.’
“We find this rationale persuasive. Accordingly, we hold that a petition for post-conviction relief is subject to dismissal without a hearing when the record, including the dialogue conducted between the court and the defendant pursuant to Crim. R. 11, indicates that the petitioner is not entitled to relief and that the petitioner failed to submit evidentiary documents containing sufficient operative facts to demonstrate that the guilty plea was coerced or induced by false promises.”

Defendant failed to meet his initial burden required by Jackson and Kapper. In the original plea proceedings, defendant nowhere expressed reliance on a promise that he would receive probation or a fear of peijured testimony. He answered the court that he understood the possible sentences outlined by the court, which made no reference to the possibility of probation. He denied that “anyone made any threats or any promises or offered any inducement whatsoever to [him] to get [him] to plead guilty to these four counts.” He expressed his wish to plead guilty “with full understanding of the penalties provided by law for each crime.”

When the court then asked if he had “any questions about anything,” defendant said: “No, Your Honor, that I get probation.” Thereafter, the court explained:

“Now, do you understand what probation is? Probation, when I refer this matter to the Probation Department for a pre-sentence investigation report, that means not that the Court is promising or *306 even indicating you will be placed on probation. It means that the Court is concerned with being fully informed at the time of sentencing, so that the Court may do a more perfect performance of his duties to all concerned here at the time of sentencing. It will behoove you to be cooperative with the Probation Department and to answer their questions and to appear on time.

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Related

State v. Gauntt, Unpublished Decision (10-16-2003)
2003 Ohio 5494 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2003)
State v. Armstrong
564 N.E.2d 1070 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
475 N.E.2d 794, 16 Ohio App. 3d 303, 16 Ohio B. 335, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12384, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-poland-ohioctapp-1984.