State v. Carter, 2016 Ohio 8150

Darnell F. Carter pled guilty in four separate Cuyahoga County cases (Aug. 14, 2014) to aggravated robbery under an agreed sentence of consecutive two-year terms and did not appeal directly.
Carter filed a timely pro se postconviction petition (R.C. 2953.21) alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel: counsel allegedly told him the State did not need to prove every element of the offenses because a prior aggravated-robbery conviction would suffice, inducing an involuntary plea.
Carter submitted a notarized, self-serving affidavit reiterating that he would have gone to trial but for counsel’s alleged misstatement of law; he also sought appointment of counsel for postconviction proceedings (denied).
The trial court initially denied the petition without a hearing, then — after Carter sought appellate relief and filed motions for findings — entered findings and conclusions that adopted the prosecutor’s proposed entry, deeming Carter’s affidavit unsupported and noting a proper Crim.R. 11 colloquy.
The court of appeals reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing, holding the trial court abused its discretion by (1) relying solely on a presumed Crim.R. 11 colloquy to reject Carter’s claim, (2) mischaracterizing the existence and sufficiency of Carter’s affidavit, and (3) failing to independently review the record before adopting the prosecutor’s proposed findings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Carter)	Held
Whether trial counsel’s alleged misstatement of law rendered Carter’s guilty pleas involuntary (ineffective assistance)	Carter’s assertion is unsupported; the record (Crim.R. 11 colloquy) shows pleas were knowing and voluntary	Counsel told Carter the State could rely on a prior conviction instead of proving each element; but for that advice Carter would have insisted on trial	Remanded for an evidentiary hearing to resolve credibility and whether counsel’s performance prejudiced Carter
Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying a postconviction evidentiary hearing	Trial court properly weighed credibility and found Carter’s self‑serving affidavit insufficient; no hearing required	Trial court failed to adequately consider the affidavit, did not independently review the record, and adopted prosecutor’s proposed findings wholesale	Trial court abused its discretion; hearing required

Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258 (defendant who pleads guilty waives most claims except those alleging plea was not knowing, voluntary)
Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (standard for prejudice inquiry when ineffective assistance leads to a guilty plea)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance requires deficient performance and prejudice)
State v. Calhoun, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (postconviction petitioner must submit evidentiary documents with operative facts to obtain a hearing)
State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d 521 (reasonable probability standard for plea withdrawal claims based on counsel error)
State v. Gondor, 112 Ohio St.3d 377 (appellate review standard for trial court denial of postconviction hearing)
State v. Broom, 146 Ohio St.3d 60 (clarifies when postconviction evidentiary hearings are required)