Dunbar v. State, 2012 Ohio 707

Dunbar struck his live-in fiancée and was charged with domestic violence; he pled no contest and was sentenced to 180 days in jail in municipal court.
Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted Dunbar on abduction and domestic violence arising from the same incident; he pleaded guilty to one count of abduction in a plea agreement for community control, but the trial court imposed a two-year prison term.
This court found the plea was entered knowingly but the trial court erred by imposing a prison sentence without allowing a withdrawal, vacating the plea in Dunbar I.
On remand, a jury convicted Dunbar of abduction; this court reversed for insufficiency of evidence in Dunbar II, and Dunbar was discharged.
Dunbar filed for a declaratory judgment under R.C. 2743.48(A) to determine wrongful imprisonment; the trial court granted summary judgment for Dunbar, declaring him a wrongfully imprisoned individual.
The State appeals, arguing the guilty plea precludes recovery and that Dunbar failed to prove innocence by a preponderance; the court ultimately overrules these arguments.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does Dunbar qualify as a wrongfully imprisoned individual despite the prior guilty plea?	Dunbar argues the plea was void and does not bar relief.	State argues the valid guilty plea precludes wrongful imprisonment relief.	Plea void; Dunbar can pursue relief.
Did Dunbar prove innocence by a preponderance of the evidence?	Record shows Dunbar’s innocence based on Dunbar II findings.	Record insufficient to prove innocence by preponderance.	Yes; Dunbar proved innocence by a preponderance.

State v. Moore, 165 Ohio App.3d 538 (Ohio Fourth Dist. 2006) (void guilty plea may not bar relief when ineffective counsel or other defects exist)
Gover v. State, 67 Ohio St.3d 93 (Ohio 1993) (filters out claimants who committed other offenses related to the conviction)
Walden v. State, 47 Ohio St.3d 47 (Ohio 1989) (wrongful imprisonment requires innocence by preponderance, beyond acquittal)
Ellis v. State, 64 Ohio St.3d 391 (Ohio 1992) (need more than acquittal to prove wrongful imprisonment)
Dunbar v. State (Dunbar II), 2010-Ohio-239 (Ohio) (insufficient evidence to support abduction conviction; later relied on for innocence finding)
Doss v. State, 8th Dist. No. 96452 (2011) (uncontradicted evidence supports 2743.48(A) claim)
State v. Dunbar, 8th Dist. No. 87317 (2007) (Dunbar I; plea-deviation explanation and voidness of plea when sentence was not properly advised)
Gover v. State, 84 Ohio St.3d 70 (Ohio 1998) (contextualizes requirement that no further prosecutions can occur for related acts)