State v. Baker, 2012 Ohio 853

Appellant Jesse James Baker appeals his conviction and sentence in Holmes County Common Pleas Court and the denial of his pre-sentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Baker entered a negotiated plea to three counts (Count II, Count V) and a weapons under disability count (Count VII) in Case No. 10CR103, with other counts and proceedings in related case 11CR002 dismissed.
The plea included a firearm specification and a property-forfeiture stipulation; sentencing followed on August 2–3, 2011 after Baker was located following a bench warrant due to noncompliance with a pre-sentencing reporting condition.
Prior to sentencing, Baker moved to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing issues such as a desire for a jury trial and challenges to the search warrant; the trial court denied the motion.
The trial court sentenced Baker to a total of four years, and a nunc pro tunc entry corrected count numbering; Baker appealed challenging the denial of his withdrawal motion among other issues.
The Court of Appeals reversed, vacating Baker’s pleas and convictions and remanding for further proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Pre-sentence withdrawal of plea abuse	Baker sought to withdraw pre-sentence plea based on trial issues and preserving a jury trial claim.	State opposed withdrawal, arguing no manifest injustice and no pre-sentence right to withdraw under Crim.R. 32.1.	Trial court abused its discretion; convictions vacated and remanded.

State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d 521 (1992) (pre-sentence withdrawal standard framework)
Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (1983) (abuse of discretion standard for withdrawal decisions)
State v. McNeil, 146 Ohio App.3d 173 (2001) (factors for evaluating pre-sentence withdrawal motions)