State v. Cox, 2019 Ohio 521

Michael A. Cox pled guilty (by waiver of indictment) to a bill of information charging one count of possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 8 months in March 2018.
At sentencing the parties stipulated the bill of information contained a scrivener's error: the drug should have been cocaine (not methamphetamine); the judgment entry reflected possession of cocaine.
Cox did not file a direct appeal. On October 1, 2018 he filed a petition for postconviction relief arguing the bill of information was fatally defective and could not be cured as a clerical error after his guilty plea.
The trial court denied the petition without an evidentiary hearing, concluding the claims were barred by res judicata.
Cox appealed; the Fifth District consolidated his two assignments of error and addressed them together.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the bill of information could be corrected after plea	State: The parties stipulated to the scrivener's error and the judgment entry properly reflected cocaine.	Cox: The bill was fatally defective; amendment after guilty plea was unlawful and jurisdictional error.	Court: Cox could have raised the challenge on direct appeal; claims barred by res judicata; petition denied.
Whether judicial bias claim may be considered by the appellate court	State: Not directly argued, but court notes limited jurisdiction.	Cox: Trial judge was biased.	Court: R.C. 2701.03 vests bias claims in the Ohio Supreme Court chief justice or designee; appellate court has no jurisdiction to consider it.

State v. Calhoun, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (Ohio 1999) (postconviction relief is a civil collateral attack, not a substitute for direct appeal)
State v. Steffen, 70 Ohio St.3d 399 (Ohio 1994) (postconviction petitions do not guarantee evidentiary hearings)
State v. Szefcyk, 77 Ohio St.3d 93 (Ohio 1996) (res judicata bars relitigation of claims that were or could have been raised on direct appeal)
State v. Perry, 10 Ohio St.2d 175 (Ohio 1967) (establishes Ohio res judicata rule for criminal convictions)
State v. Reynolds, 79 Ohio St.3d 158 (Ohio 1997) (a petitioner cannot raise in postconviction what could have been raised on direct appeal)
State v. Smith, 17 Ohio St.3d 98 (Ohio 1985) (evidence dehors the record may overcome res judicata where it renders the judgment void or voidable)
State v. Jackson, 64 Ohio St.2d 107 (Ohio 1980) (postconviction relief is not an automatic evidentiary hearing mechanism)