State v. Green, 2018 Ohio 3536

Ricky D. Green was indicted for murder with a firearm specification and initially pled not guilty, later changing to a guilty plea.
The plea agreement waived a presentence investigation and contained a joint recommendation: 15 years-to-life on murder plus 3 years on the firearm specification, to run consecutively.
At the plea hearing the trial court conducted a full colloquy, obtained a factual basis from the state (Green shot and killed his wife and made post-offense admissions), and Green confirmed his plea was knowing, voluntary, and that he was satisfied with counsel.
The trial court accepted the plea and imposed the jointly recommended aggregate sentence of 18 years to life on August 18, 2016.
Green filed a delayed appeal; appointed counsel filed an Anders brief seeking permission to withdraw and Green filed a pro se brief claiming ineffective assistance of counsel.
The appellate court conducted an independent review, found the appeal wholly frivolous, affirmed the conviction and sentence, and granted counsel’s motion to withdraw.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Appealability of joint recommendation sentence	State: Sentence is not appealable under R.C. 2953.08(D)(1) if authorized by law and jointly recommended	Green: Implied challenge to sentence authority and reviewability	Court: Sentence was within statutory range, jointly recommended and imposed; not subject to review
Validity of plea (knowing, voluntary)	State: Plea colloquy and factual basis show plea was knowing and voluntary	Green: Contends counsel was ineffective but does not allege plea was involuntary	Court: Plea was knowing and voluntary; colloquy adequate
Ineffective assistance of counsel (general)	State: Counsel presumed effective; to prevail Green must show deficient performance and prejudice under Strickland	Green: Counsel failed to be adversarial and failed to move to suppress evidence	Court: No showing that any deficiency rendered the plea unknowing or involuntary; no prejudice shown
Impact of unfiled suppression motion on plea	State: Guilty plea admitted the facts; suppression would not have altered voluntariness	Green: Failure to move to suppress undermined counsel’s effectiveness	Court: Failure to move to suppress did not prejudice plea; claim fails

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (U.S. 1967) (procedures for counsel’s withdrawal when appeal is frivolous)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two‑part test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Foster, 109 Ohio St.3d 1 (Ohio 2006) (sentencing discretion post-Foster)
State v. Simpkins, 117 Ohio St.3d 420 (Ohio 2008) (trial judge’s duty to impose lawful sentences)
State v. Underwood, 124 Ohio St.3d 365 (Ohio 2010) (interpretation of "authorized by law" for appeal waivers)
State v. Spates, 64 Ohio St.3d 269 (Ohio 1992) (guilty plea waives prior nonconstitutional claims unless plea involuntary)