State v. Smith

521 N.E.2d 1112, 36 Ohio App. 3d 162, 1987 Ohio App. LEXIS 7102
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 9, 1987
Docket51829
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 521 N.E.2d 1112 (State v. Smith) 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. Smith, 521 N.E.2d 1112, 36 Ohio App. 3d 162, 1987 Ohio App. LEXIS 7102 (Ohio Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

David T. Matia, J.

Defendant-appellant, Norman Smith, appeals from the dismissal of his petition to vacate sentence.

Appellant was indicted on July 20, 1982 for two counts of aggravated robbery in violation of R.C. 2911.01. A trial before a jury was commenced on November 15, 1982, and on November 18, 1982, the jury returned verdicts of guilty as to both counts of aggravated robbery. Thereupon, the appellant was sentenced to the Columbus Correctional Facility for seven to twenty-five years of incarceration with said sentences ordered to be served concurrently.

Upon direct appeal to the Eighth District Court of Appeals, appellant argued that the failure of the trial court to allow the appellant to introduce testimony with regard to an alibi defense resulted in a denial of the right to testify on one’s own behalf, a denial of compulsory process, and ineffective assistance of counsel. On June 7,1984, the Eighth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the cause for a new trial on the basis that appellant’s rights to testify and to compulsory process were violated as a result of the trial court’s exclusion of appellant’s alibi evidence.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney filed a notice of appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. Said appeal presented three propositions of law for review by the Ohio Supreme Court: (1) defense counsel’s failure to timely file a notice of alibi pursuant to Crim. R. 12.1 did not per se constitute a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel; (2) the exclusion of alibi testimony, first offered by the accused after the close of the state’s case, did not violate the right to testify or the Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process; and (3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in precluding the defendant or alibi witnesses from testifying at *163 trial where the defendant failed to file a notice of alibi as required by Crim. R. 12.1.

The Ohio Supreme Court, on May 15, 1985, reversed the decision of the Eighth District Court of Appeals and ordered execution of appellant’s original conviction and sentence on the basis that: (1) appellant’s trial counsel was effective; (2) the exclusion of alibi testimony did not prejudice the appellant’s right to testify or the Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process; and (3) the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by excluding alibi evidence at trial. State v. Smith (1985), 17 Ohio St. 3d 98, 17 OBR 219, 477 N.E. 2d 1128.

On October 25, 1985, appellant filed a petition to vacate sentence pursuant to R.C. 2953.21. The trial court overruled the appellant’s petition and granted the motion of the prosecuting attorney to dismiss the petition on December 10, 1985.

Thereupon, the appellant brought this appeal.

The appellant’s first and second assignments of error, which will be considered simultaneously, are that:

“The trial court erred by denying appellant’s petition to vacate sentence pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 2953.21. Appellant was thereby denied his right to effective assistance of counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Ohio Constitution.
“The trial court erred by failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on appellant’s petition to vacate sentence as required by Ohio Revised Code Section 2953.21(E) in violation of appellant’s right to due process.”

Appellant initially alleges that the trial court erred in denying the petition to vacate judgment which was based upon ineffective assistance of counsel vis-a-vis defense counsel’s failure to file a notice of alibi in the original criminal trial of November 15, 1982 in case No. CR-173328.

Ohio case law holds that a properly licensed attorney is presumed to execute his duties in an ethical and competent manner. Vaughn v. Maxwell (1965), 2 Ohio St. 2d 299, 31 O.O. 2d 567, 209 N.E. 2d 164; State v. Williams (1969), 19 Ohio App. 2d 234, 48 O.O. 2d 364, 250 N.E. 2d 907. The appellant, in order to overcome this presumption of effectiveness, must submit sufficient operative facts or evidentiary documents which, if proven, would show that appellant was prejudiced by said ineffective counsel. State v. Perry (1967), 10 Ohio St. 2d 175, 39 O.O. 2d 189, 226 N.E. 2d 104.

In addition, the Ohio Supreme Court has formulated the following tests, which must be applied to a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in a petition to vacate sentence:

“* * *Balancing the rights of the accused and of the public, we hold that the test to be whether the accused, under all the circumstances * * * had a fair trial and substantial justice was done.” State v. Hester (1976), 45 Ohio St. 2d 71, 79, 74 O.O. 2d 156, 160-161, 341 N.E. 2d 304, 310.
“* * * 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, and analytically separate from the question of whether the defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights were violated, there must be a determination as to whether the defense was prejudiced by counsel’s ineffectiveness.” State v. Lytle (1976), 48 Ohio St. 2d 391, 396-397, 2 O.O. 3d 495, 498, 358 N.E. 2d 623, 627, vacated as to the death penalty (1978), 438 U.S. 910.

The United States Supreme Court has established a two-step process for evaluating an allegation of ineffective *164 assistance of counsel. In Strickland v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 687, the court concluded that:

“* * * First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the ‘counsel’ guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel’s errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable.* * *”

Appellant argues that defense counsel was- ineffective through the failure of said counsel to file a notice of alibi as mandated by Crim. R. 12.1. The failure of counsel to file said notice of alibi in turn allegedly resulted in a denial of appellant’s right to testify and a denial of compulsory process at trial.

Appellant, in his petition to vacate sentence, brought forth two affidavits. The first affidavit, which was executed by the appellant, essentially states that: (1) appellant had discussions with his defense counsel concerning the defense of alibi; (2) the appellant was unaware of the procedural requirements of Crim. R. 12.1; and (3) defense counsel never informed the appellant of counsel’s defense strategy.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
521 N.E.2d 1112, 36 Ohio App. 3d 162, 1987 Ohio App. LEXIS 7102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-smith-ohioctapp-1987.