State v. Hatcher, 2023 Ohio 3884

Firefighters responded to a two-story residence after a second-floor caller reported smoke from an outlet; thermal imaging indicated heat in the first-floor unit where Victor Hatcher lived.
Firefighters entered the apartment (with permission from Hatcher’s girlfriend) and removed ceiling tiles to inspect wiring.
Hatcher confronted the firefighters, tackled Lt. Todd O’Neill as he left, and was pulled off by other firefighters; later Hatcher retrieved and brandished a firearm at the crew.
Hatcher was indicted for fourth-degree felony assault (with a public-servant specification) and disrupting public services; he pled guilty to amended charge of attempted assault (fifth-degree felony) and the other charge was dismissed.
At sentencing the court reviewed the PSI, discussed R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12 factors, found lack of genuine remorse and some risk of recidivism, and sentenced Hatcher to six months’ imprisonment (within the statutory range).
Hatcher appealed, arguing (1) the sentence violated R.C. 2929.11/2929.12 and (2) ineffective assistance of counsel; the court affirmed on both grounds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the six-month sentence violated R.C. 2929.11/2929.12	State: Trial court expressly considered statutory purposes/factors and the sentence is within statutory range for a fifth-degree felony	Hatcher: Court failed to consider mitigating factors (including alleged remorse) and thus sentence is contrary to law	Court: Affirmed; record shows court considered R.C. 2929.11/2929.12, Hatcher showed no remorse, and six months is within the statutory range; first assignment overruled
Whether Hatcher received ineffective assistance of counsel that invalidates his guilty plea	State: Plea was knowing, voluntary, counsel’s performance presumed reasonable; Hatcher hasn’t shown prejudice	Hatcher: Counsel failed to communicate plea offer, research background, and understand sentencing possibilities	Court: Affirmed; Hatcher failed to show deficient performance or reasonable probability he would have gone to trial but for counsel’s errors; second assignment overruled

State v. Marcum, 59 N.E.3d 1231 (Ohio 2016) (framework for appellate review of felony sentences under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2))
State v. Harris, 972 N.E.2d 509 (Ohio 2012) (a sentence is contrary to law if court omits a statutorily required term)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (1985) (prejudice standard for ineffective-assistance claims when plea entered)
State v. Xie, 584 N.E.2d 715 (Ohio 1991) (guilty plea waives most claims except those that render plea unknowing/involuntary)
State v. Vinson, 73 N.E.3d 1025 (Ohio 2016) (same principle re: plea and ineffective-assistance claims)
State v. Clinton, 108 N.E.3d 1 (Ohio 2017) (court may presume consideration of sentencing factors when defendant makes only blanket assertions)
State v. Jones, 169 N.E.3d 649 (Ohio 2020) (appellate courts may not reweigh sentencing factors under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2))