State v. Jensen, 2020 Ohio 1411

Morgan County grand jury returned a 29-count indictment charging Jensen with telecommunications fraud, multiple theft counts, and money laundering, alleging offenses occurred “within Morgan County, Ohio or another county whereby venue is properly placed in Morgan County, Ohio.”
Jensen was arrested in Nevada, extradited to Ohio, and filed multiple pretrial motions challenging jurisdiction, seeking grand jury records, moving to sever, and asserting selective prosecution; the trial judge recused and a new judge was assigned.
The court granted the state’s motion to amend the indictment (clarifying venue language and other details) and dismissed several counts; Jensen moved in limine to exclude State witness Gary Foster as incompetent.
At the second day of trial Jensen withdrew his not-guilty plea, waived a jury, and pled guilty to the remaining counts; the plea document mirrored the indictment’s venue language and stipulated to the factual basis.
The court sentenced Jensen to 8½ years’ imprisonment, restitution of $610,006, costs, and credit for time served; Jensen appealed, raising (1) lack of subject-matter jurisdiction over fourteen counts and (2) the trial court’s failure to find Gary Foster incompetent, impairing Jensen’s ability to prepare a defense.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Morgan County Common Pleas Court had subject-matter jurisdiction to convict and sentence Jensen on the challenged counts	State: The indictment and Jensen’s written guilty plea expressly alleged the offenses occurred in Morgan County (or elsewhere such that venue in Morgan County is proper); Jensen’s plea admitted the facts and waived non‑jurisdictional defects	Jensen: Many offenses occurred outside Morgan County/Ohio; R.C. 2901.11 does not support jurisdiction for those counts and the court therefore lacked power to convict/sentence	Court: Jurisdiction existed. A guilty plea admits the factual allegations (including venue) and supplies the necessary proof; plea waived defects except subject-matter jurisdiction, but the plea and indictment established jurisdiction, so the assignment fails
Whether the trial court erred by not ruling that Gary Foster was incompetent to testify, denying Jensen the ability to prepare his defense	State: Jensen’s guilty plea waived pretrial evidentiary objections; a motion in limine is interlocutory and could be revisited at trial, so failure to rule did not bar defense preparation	Jensen: Foster’s incompetence prevented adequate defense planning; the court’s failure to rule violated Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights	Court: Waived by guilty plea. Even if decided, a motion in limine is tentative and not a final appealable ruling; no reversible error shown

Craig v. State, 49 Ohio St. 415, 30 N.E. 1120 (Ohio 1892) (a guilty plea is an admission of every material fact well pleaded in the indictment)
Rodriguez v. Sacks, 173 Ohio St. 456, 184 N.E.2d 93 (Ohio 1962) (guilty plea admits well‑pleaded facts and waives trial)
McAuley v. Maxwell, 174 Ohio St. 567, 190 N.E.2d 922 (Ohio 1963) (no duty for trial court to require evidence to justify a guilty plea)
Click v. Eckle, 174 Ohio St. 88, 186 N.E.2d 731 (Ohio 1962) (indictment invokes common pleas court jurisdiction in felony cases)
Menna v. New York, 423 U.S. 61, 96 S. Ct. 241, 46 L. Ed. 2d 195 (U.S. 1975) (plea can preclude collateral review of matters inconsistent with the plea)
Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 93 S. Ct. 1602, 36 L. Ed. 2d 235 (U.S. 1973) (a guilty plea waives claims of constitutional deprivations that occurred before the plea)
State v. Adams, 62 Ohio St. 2d 151, 404 N.E.2d 144 (Ohio 1980) (competency determinations reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Johnson v. Petrovsky, 626 F.2d 72 (8th Cir. 1980) (voluntary guilty plea waives nonjurisdictional defects)