State v. Green, 2015 Ohio 4441

Shane L. Green was indicted by a Knox County grand jury in 2008 for rape of his eight‑year‑old daughter (first‑degree felony) and gross sexual imposition (third‑degree felony).
A jury convicted Green on both counts; he received a life sentence on Count One and five years consecutive on Count Two.
Green appealed; this court affirmed the convictions in 2009. The trial transcript was filed July 28, 2008.
In March 2015 Green filed a "motion to vacate and dismiss void judgment" arguing lack of court jurisdiction because he was not sworn at grand jury, the indictment was defective, and his arrest warrant was invalid.
The trial court treated the motion as a petition for post‑conviction relief (R.C. 2953.21), denied it as untimely and barred by res judicata, and refused to hold an evidentiary hearing.
Green appealed that denial; the Fifth District affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court properly construed the motion as a post‑conviction petition	State: motion alleges constitutional violations after direct appeal and thus qualifies as a petition under R.C. 2953.21	Green: motion challenges jurisdiction (subject‑matter/personam), so it is not a post‑conviction petition	Court: Motion was properly treated as a post‑conviction petition and not a jurisdictional challenge
Whether the petition warranted an evidentiary hearing	State: petition was untimely and lacked operative facts/affidavits to require a hearing	Green: trial court abused discretion by denying hearing on jurisdictional challenge	Court: No abuse of discretion; no sufficient operative facts and res judicata applied; untimely under R.C. 2953.21 so court lacked jurisdiction to hold hearing
Whether claims are barred by res judicata	State: claims were raised or could have been raised on direct appeal	Green: contends claims are jurisdictional and thus excepted from res judicata	Court: Res judicata bars these claims because Green was represented by counsel and could have raised them on direct appeal
Whether the petition was timely under R.C. 2953.21	State: transcript filed July 28, 2008; petition filed in 2015 and fails statutory exceptions	Green: did not show any applicable statutory exception	Court: Petition untimely; no showing of exceptions, so trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider merits

State v. Bush, 96 Ohio St.3d 235 (recognizing need to classify post‑trial motions to apply correct procedural standard)
State v. Reynolds, 79 Ohio St.3d 158 (post‑conviction petition defined where motion alleges constitutional violation after direct appeal)
State v. Calhoun, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (grounds for dismissing post‑conviction petition without hearing: insufficient operative facts or res judicata)
State v. Lentz, 70 Ohio St.3d 527 (same principle for dismissing without hearing)
State v. Perry, 10 Ohio St.2d 175 (res judicata bars claims raised or that could have been raised on direct appeal)
State v. Szefcyk, 77 Ohio St.3d 93 (res judicata in post‑conviction context where defendant had counsel)
Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (abuse of discretion standard defined)