State v. Struckman

2021 Ohio 1043
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 31, 2021
DocketC-200069, C-200210
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2021 Ohio 1043 (State v. Struckman) 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. Struckman, 2021 Ohio 1043 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Struckman, 2021-Ohio-1043.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

STATE OF OHIO, : APPEAL NOS. C-200069 C-200210 Plaintiff-Respondent-Appellee, : TRIAL NO. B-1502231

vs. :

BUDDY EUGENE STRUCKMAN, : O P I N I O N.

Defendant-Petitioner-Appellant. :

Criminal Appeals From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Judgments Appealed From Are: Affirmed in C-200069; Appeal Dismissed in C-200210

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: March 31, 2021

Joseph T. Deters, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Ronald Springman, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Respondent-Appellee,

Buddy Eugene Struckman, pro se. OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

ZAYAS, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-petitioner-appellant Buddy Eugene Struckman appeals the

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court’s judgments overruling his Crim.R. 33 motion for

a new trial and denying his petition under R.C. 2953.21 for postconviction relief. We

dismiss for lack of jurisdiction Struckman’s appeal from the overruling of his new-trial

motion. And we affirm the common pleas court’s judgment denying postconviction relief.

{¶2} In May 2018, Struckman was convicted upon jury verdicts finding him

guilty of two counts of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance. We affirmed

those convictions in the direct appeal. State v. Struckman, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-

180287, 2020-Ohio-1232, appeal not accepted, 159 Ohio St.3d 1446, 2020-Ohio-

3712, 149 N.E.3d 523.

{¶3} Struckman also sought relief from his convictions by filing with the

common pleas court, in August 2018, motions for a new trial and for leave to move for a

new trial out of time and, in November 2019, a petition under R.C. 2953.21 et seq. for

postconviction relief. Here, in the case numbered C-200210, he appeals the judgment

overruling his motion for a new trial. And in the case numbered C-200069, he appeals the

judgment denying his postconviction petition.

App. No. C-200210—No Appeals Court Jurisdiction

{¶4} We address at the outset the state’s argument that Struckman’s appeal in

C-200210, from the common pleas court’s judgment overruling his motion for a new trial,

must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. We agree.

{¶5} A timely filed notice of appeal confers upon a reviewing court the

jurisdiction to entertain an appeal. See App.R. 3(A) and 4; State ex rel. Curran v.

Brookes, 142 Ohio St. 107, 50 N.E.2d 995 (1943), paragraph seven of the syllabus.

2 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

Generally, the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the final

judgment sought to be appealed. App.R. 4(A)(1). If the notice of appeal is not timely

filed, the appellant in a criminal case may move under App.R. 5 for leave to file a

delayed appeal. In a civil case, “if the clerk has not completed service of the order

[appealed] within the three-day period prescribed in Civ.R. 58(B),” the 30-day

appeal period is tolled and does not “begin to run [until] the date when the clerk

actually completes service.” App.R. 4(A)(3).

{¶6} The notices of appeal in C-200210 and C-200069 were not filed within the

30 days prescribed by App.R. 4(A)(1). Struckman did not, in either appeal, seek leave

under App.R. 5 to file a delayed appeal. And neither the judgment denying postconviction

relief nor the judgment overruling the new-trial motion has been served on Struckman.

{¶7} Appeal from denial of postconviction petition was timely

filed. The proceedings upon a petition under R.C. 2953.21 et seq. for

postconviction relief are civil in nature and governed by the Ohio Rules of Appellate

Procedure as they apply to a civil action. State v. Nichols, 11 Ohio St.3d 40, 463

N.E.2d 375 (1984), paragraph two of the syllabus. Thus, regardless of whether the

petitioner actually knows of the judgment denying postconviction relief, the time for

appealing that judgment is tolled under App.R. 4(A)(3) and begins to run only “upon

service of notice of the judgment and notation of service on the docket by the clerk of

courts.” State v. Young, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-140236, 2015-Ohio-774, ¶ 4,

quoting Clermont Cty. Transp. Improvement Dist. v. Gator Milford, L.L.C., 141 Ohio

St.3d 542, 2015-Ohio-241, 26 N.E.3d 806, syllabus. Because Struckman was not

served with the judgment denying his postconviction petition, App.R. 4(A)(3) tolled

the time for appealing that judgment. Thus, his appeal from that judgment in C-

3 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

200069 was filed within the time prescribed by App.R. 4(A)(1), and this court has

jurisdiction to review that judgment.

{¶8} Appeal from overruling of Crim.R. 33 motion was not

timely filed. But proceedings under Crim.R. 33 are not civil in nature. Therefore,

App.R. 4(A)(3) did not, as Struckman argues, toll the time for appealing the

overruling of his Crim.R. 33 motion for a new trial.

{¶9} Nor was the time for appealing the overruling of the new-trial motion

tolled under any exception to App.R. 4(A)(1)’s 30-day period provided under App.R.

4(B). App.R. 4(B)(3) speaks directly to the time for appealing a decision on a

“timely” filed “post-judgment” motion for a new trial in a criminal case. Under

App.R. 4(B)(3), when a criminal defendant moves under Crim.R. 33(A) for a new

trial, whether on grounds of newly discovered evidence or other grounds, and that

motion is filed within the time provided under Crim.R. 33(B) for filing a motion for a

new trial on grounds other than newly discovered evidence, the time for appealing

the judgment of conviction is tolled until the new-trial motion is decided, and the

decision on the new-trial motion is then reviewable in the direct appeal. Unless that

exception applies, an appeal from a judgment overruling a Crim.R. 33 motion must

be filed within App.R. 4(A)(1)’s 30-day period.

{¶10} Struckman sought a new trial under Crim.R. 33(A)(1) through (4) and

33(A)(6). A Crim.R. 33(A)(6) motion for a new trial on the ground of newly

discovered evidence must be filed within 120 days of the return of the verdict. A

motion for a new trial on other grounds must be filed within 14 days of the return of

the verdict. Crim.R. 33(B).

4 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

{¶11} Struckman’s verdicts were returned on May 3, 2018. He filed his

Crim.R. 33 motion more than three months later, on August 22, 2018. The trial

court overruled the motion on September 17, 2018. That judgment was appealed on

May 22, 2020. To the extent that the motion sought a new trial on the ground of

newly discovered evidence, it was timely filed for purposes of Crim.R. 33, but not for

purposes of App.R. 4(B)(3)’s tolling provision. To the extent the motion sought a

new trial on other grounds, it was not timely filed for either purpose.

{¶12} Thus, App.R. 4(B)(3) did not operate to toll the time for appealing the

judgment overruling Struckman’s Crim.R. 33 motion. His notice of appeal from that

judgment in C-200210 was not filed within App.R. 4(A)(1)’s 30-day period. And he

was not granted, because he did not seek, leave under App.R. 5 to file a delayed

appeal. Therefore, this court has no jurisdiction to review that judgment, and the

appeal in C-200210 must be dismissed.

App. No.

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2021 Ohio 1043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-struckman-ohioctapp-2021.