State v. Akbari, 2013 Ohio 5709

Farzad Akbari was indicted (2008) for possession of cocaine (fifth-degree felony); he pled guilty on June 3, 2009 and was sentenced. He did not appeal the conviction or sentence.
On December 12, 2012 (about 3½ years after the plea), Akbari filed a post‑sentence Crim.R. 32.1 motion to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging (1) ineffective advice under Padilla v. Kentucky and (2) that his plea was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary because of psychotic depression/mental‑health issues.
The trial court denied the motion without a hearing, finding Padilla inapplicable retroactively and that Akbari failed to show manifest injustice; the court relied on the plea colloquy, Akbari’s signed plea form, and the 3½‑year delay.
On appeal, Akbari argued (1) his plea was involuntary due to mental illness and (2) the trial court erred in treating his 3½‑year delay as adverse because he contends he only learned of the deportation consequence in March 2012.
The appellate court reviewed the denial for abuse of discretion under the manifest‑injustice standard applicable to post‑sentence plea withdrawals and affirmed the trial court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Akbari)	Held
Whether Akbari’s plea was knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered given his mental‑health history	The plea colloquy and signed plea form show compliance with Crim.R. 11; no indicia of incompetence; court had no duty to probe further absent signs of incompetence	Mental illness (psychotic depression) undermined his subjective understanding of plea consequences; trial court should have inquired after counsel’s remark about depression	Court held plea was knowing, intelligent, voluntary; trial complied with Crim.R.11; counsel’s remark did not place court on notice to inquire further; no manifest injustice shown
Whether the 3½‑year delay in filing the motion militates against withdrawal	Delay from June 3, 2009 (plea) to Dec. 12, 2012 undermines credibility and militates against relief	Delay should be measured from March 2012 (when he learned actual deportation would occur), making delay only nine months	Court held delay began when Akbari learned deportation was a possible consequence (at plea and by June 4, 2009 Notice to Appear); 3½‑year delay weighed against him

Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (Sup. Ct. 2010) (advice about immigration consequences can be constitutionally required)
State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d 521 (Ohio 1992) (appellate review of post‑sentence plea‑withdrawal is for abuse of discretion)
State v. Nero, 56 Ohio St.3d 106 (Ohio 1990) (substantial compliance with Crim.R.11 for nonconstitutional matters requires that defendant subjectively understood plea)
State v. Smith, 49 Ohio St.2d 261 (Ohio 1977) (standards for motions to withdraw guilty plea)
State v. Bush, 96 Ohio St.3d 235 (Ohio 2002) (undue delay between cause for withdrawal and motion is adverse to movant)