State v. Champion, 2012 Ohio 2537

Champion was convicted in 1998 of two counts aggravated robbery, two counts kidnapping, one count aggravated burglary, and firearm specifications; this court affirmed on direct appeal and again on post-conviction review.
In 2011 Champion filed a motion for resentencing arguing that aggravated robbery and kidnapping were allied offenses of similar import under Johnson and thus merger was required.
The trial court ruled Johnson has prospective (not retroactive) application and thus did not apply to Champion’s longstanding final convictions.
Champion argued that Johnson’s test should apply and would require merger; the court rejected retroactivity and the helpfulness of Johnson for his case.
The court reaffirmed that Champion’s convictions were not allied offenses due to separate animus and risk, and that no reason existed to hold the appeal in abeyance for a Supreme Court decision on Johnson’s retroactivity.
The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision, overruling Champion’s assignments of error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court erred by not addressing allied-offense merits and plain error.	Champion	Champion	No reversible error; Johnson not retroactive.
Whether the court erred by failing to apply the plain-error doctrine.	Champion	Champion	Plain error not established retroactively.
Whether aggravated robbery and kidnapping are allied offenses of similar import.	Champion	Champion	Not allied due to separate animus; Johnson not retroactive relief.

State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153 (2010) (new test for allied offenses; prospective application)
State v. Parson, 2012-Ohio-730 () (rejects retroactive Johnson application to old convictions)
State v. Logan, 60 Ohio St.2d 126 () (separate animus if restraint increases risk of harm)