State v. Gilmore, 2016 Ohio 4697

Defendant Shanda Hobson Gilmore pleaded guilty to robbery (with a one‑year firearm specification), petty theft, and carrying a concealed weapon; sentenced to a total of three years in prison.
Original indictment included aggravated robbery, robbery, kidnapping (all with firearm specifications), carrying a concealed weapon, petty theft, and two counts of tampering with evidence; plea reduced the counts she pleaded to.
Incident facts: Gilmore, a habitual cocaine user, smoked synthetic marijuana (K2), entered a gas station, brandished a loaded .38 caliber handgun, took $120, and fled; arrested shortly after; gun recovered nearby.
Gilmore claimed at sentencing she did not remember the offense and was "asleep" (suggesting lack of sanity at the time); she told the probation investigator she regretted ‘‘hitting’’ the K2 and ‘‘spazzing out.’’
Trial counsel did not pursue a not‑guilty‑by‑reason‑of‑insanity defense or obtain a sanity‑at‑time‑of‑act evaluation; Gilmore appealed asserting ineffective assistance of counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue a not‑guilty‑by‑reason‑of‑insanity plea	Counsel's performance was reasonable; plea was tactical and record did not support insanity defense	Counsel should have sought sanity evaluation and pleaded NGRI because Gilmore claimed amnesia/insanity at sentencing	Counsel not ineffective; no showing NGRI would likely succeed and plea was tactical decision

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two‑part ineffective assistance standard)
State v. Brooks, 25 Ohio St.3d 144 (discusses Strickland standard in Ohio)
State v. Carter, 72 Ohio St.3d 545 (courts must defer to reasonable strategic decisions of counsel)
State v. Sallie, 81 Ohio St.3d 673 (strong presumption that counsel's decisions are reasonable)
State v. Thompson, 33 Ohio St.3d 1 (supports deference to trial counsel's strategic choices)