State v. Azeen, 2019 Ohio 4677

In February 1987 Azeen (then Lloyd Harris) shot two brothers; one, Danuell, was rendered paraplegic.
In July 1987 Azeen was indicted; on September 1, 1987 he pleaded no contest and was immediately sentenced to the minimum terms (3 years on firearm spec; 5–25 years on attempted murder), all concurrent; he was paroled in 1995.
Danuell died in May 2014; the medical examiner attributed the death to complications of injuries from the 1987 shooting and listed the manner as homicide.
In October 2016 the State indicted Azeen for aggravated murder; Azeen moved to dismiss with prejudice, arguing his 1987 plea was a negotiated plea that foreclosed later homicide charges.
The trial court granted dismissal under State v. Carpenter and State v. Dye; the State appealed, arguing (among other points) that Azeen’s no contest plea was not negotiated and therefore Carpenter/Dye did not bar the murder indictment.
The court of appeals affirmed the dismissal, concluding the record showed a negotiated plea and Carpenter/Dye applied.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Azeen’s 1987 no contest plea was a "negotiated guilty plea" under Carpenter/Dye	Not a negotiated plea; no consideration or express agreement to limit future prosecution; no-contest cannot be negotiated here	Yes; plea was negotiated off the record (minimum, concurrent sentence), defendant gave up trial rights in exchange for a sentence	Plea was negotiated: court found on-record statements and conduct (judge announcing sentence, immediate sentencing, prosecutor’s confirmations) show a negotiated plea
Whether Carpenter/Dye bar subsequent murder prosecution when the State did not reserve the right to refile if victim later dies	Reservation requirement not a constitutional right; Carpenter/Dye inapplicable if plea was not negotiated	Carpenter/Dye apply—when plea is negotiated and State made promises, State cannot later reindict for homicide absent reservation	Court applied Carpenter/Dye and held dismissal proper because the plea was negotiated and the State did not reserve rights to reindict
Whether Carpenter/Dye can apply to pleas entered before those decisions	(Not argued below) impliedly contends inapplicability	Court and precedent treat Carpenter as applicable to earlier pleas in appropriate circumstances	Court applied Carpenter to the 1987 plea (citing prior appellate precedent applying Carpenter to pre-1993 pleas)

State v. Carpenter, 68 Ohio St.3d 59 (plea negotiations deemed binding; prosecutor must reserve right to reindict if victim later dies)
State v. Dye, 127 Ohio St.3d 357 (explains Carpenter; requires record showing contractual elements for a negotiated plea)
Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (plea bargains must be honored; safeguards required when constitutional rights are relinquished)
State v. Luna, 2 Ohio St.3d 57 (no-contest pleas can be negotiated and affect rights preserved/waived)
State v. Zima, 102 Ohio St.3d 61 (discusses nature of plea agreements in light of constitutional concerns)