State v. Bowdish, 2017 Ohio 8916

Appellant Robert Bowdish, age 17 at the time, faced juvenile charges including attempted murder, felonious assault, and discharging a firearm into a habitation; juvenile court dismissed attempted murder for lack of probable cause.
The State appealed the juvenile court’s no-probable-cause finding on attempted murder; parties then negotiated a plea.
Bowdish waived a discretionary bindover and pled guilty in common pleas to felonious assault (R.C. 2903.11) with a firearm specification (R.C. 2941.145); parties jointly recommended an 8-year term (5 years assault + 3 years firearm).
After pleading, Bowdish moved to withdraw his plea and waiver of indictment; counsel moved to withdraw and was replaced; Bowdish later withdrew his motion to withdraw and proceeded to sentencing, which imposed the jointly recommended 8-year term.
On appeal, appointed counsel filed a Toney no-merit brief and motion to withdraw; Bowdish did not file a pro se brief. The court reviewed the record under Toney procedures.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Bowdish's guilty plea was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary	The State: plea colloquy complied with Crim.R. 11; Bowdish admitted understanding rights and consequences	Bowdish: plea was not knowing/voluntary	Court: plea valid; trial court strictly complied on constitutional rights and substantially complied on nonconstitutional matters
Whether State v. Aalim requires remand to juvenile court	The State: Aalim (reconsidered) does not invalidate discretionary bindover; felonious assault is not a mandatory bindover offense	Bowdish: Aalim applies and mandates remand to juvenile court	Court: Aalim (as reconsidered) does not apply; felonious assault was discretionary bindover, so no relief
Whether the sentence is appealable	The State: jointly recommended sentence accepted by court is authorized and not subject to appeal	Bowdish: (implicitly) sentence may be erroneous	Court: joint, lawful, court-imposed recommendation bars sentencing challenge on appeal
Whether counsel may withdraw under Toney	The State: appointed counsel properly concluded appeal is frivolous and followed Toney; no pro se filings from defendant	Bowdish: (no pro se brief)	Court: after independent review, appeal is frivolous; counsel’s motion to withdraw granted and conviction affirmed

State v. Toney, 23 Ohio App.2d 203, 262 N.E.2d 419 (7th Dist. 1970) (procedure when appointed counsel finds indigent's appeal frivolous)
Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (1970) (plea validity judged by totality of circumstances)
Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (1969) (guilty plea must be voluntary to satisfy Due Process)