State v. Brunning, 2013 Ohio 365

Appellant Lindell W. Brunning, Jr. appealed after remand from the Ohio Supreme Court concerning the court of appeals’ prior judgment in State v. Brunning.
Brunning was charged in Cuyahoga C.P. Nos. CR-532822 and CR-532770, with three offenses under the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) and pre-AWA provisions affecting penalties.
The plea involved three counts: (1) verified address (R.C. 2950.06), (2) change of address notice (R.C. 2905.05(E)(1)), and (3) tampering with records (R.C. 2913.42); Counts 1 and 2 faced AWA-related issues.
At the plea hearing, the State stated all three counts would merge for sentencing; the court advised that the maximum penalty would be 2–8 years.
At sentencing, the court imposed a 21-year aggregate term on CR-532770, while Brunning later moved to withdraw his pleas, alleging promises or misrepresentations at or before plea.
The Ohio Supreme Court partially reversed the prior judgment and remanded for consideration of issues previously deemed moot, including the first assignment of error and the sentence in CR-532770.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Brunning’s plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered.	Brunning asserts promises/misrepresentations induced the plea.	State provided no binding promises to merge or sentence.	Plea not knowing/voluntary; vacated.
Whether the trial court properly merged counts for sentencing.	Counts should be merged for sentencing as allied offenses.	State disputes merger; no agreement to merge.	Assignment sustained; Count 1 vacated; remand for Counts 2–3.

State v. Brunning, 2012-Ohio-5752 (Ohio Supreme Court (2012)) (remand after partial reversal clarifies AWA-related issues)
State v. Brunning, 2011-Ohio-1936 (Ohio 8th Dist. (2011)) (prior appellate decision on related issues)
State v. Howard, 2012-Ohio-5738 (Ohio Supreme Court (2012)) (pre-AWA penalty for Megan’s Law offenses)