2019 Ohio 287
Ohio Ct. App.2019Background
- David Isaiah Johnson, 17 at the time, faced juvenile complaints for multiple offenses: alleged aggravated robbery of Isaiah Woodard (with firearm specification asserted by Johnson), aggravated robbery and robbery of Steven Johnson, and possession of a stolen vehicle (Ella Washington).
- Juvenile court allegedly ordered mandatory bindover for the Woodard aggravated-robbery charge and transferred related lesser charges as discretionary bindovers for arising from a common nucleus of operative facts; the certified record in the common pleas court is sparse.
- A Hamilton County grand jury returned a six-count indictment in common pleas court; aggravated-robbery counts were included but without a firearm specification in the indictment.
- Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery (second-degree felonies) and one count of receiving stolen property (fourth-degree felony); aggravated-robbery counts were dismissed; trial court accepted pleas, sentenced, then stayed judgment and remanded to juvenile court under reverse-bindover procedures when it appeared convictions were not for qualifying mandatory-bindover offenses.
- Records and transcripts from juvenile-court bindover and amenability proceedings were not included in the certified record on appeal; Johnson appealed only the common pleas sentencing entry.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutionality of Ohio mandatory-bindover statute | State: statute is constitutional | Johnson: mandatory bindover violates due process/equal protection | Court: statute constitutional (no plain error) |
| Was counsel ineffective for not challenging bindover constitutionality? | State: counsel not deficient since statute is constitutional | Johnson: counsel ineffective for failing to raise constitutional challenge | Court: no deficiency; claim fails under Strickland |
| Juvenile court failed to hold amenability hearing for discretionary-bindover charges | State: juvenile procedures (not in record) were regular | Johnson: juvenile court erred by not holding amenability hearing because lesser offenses didn’t share common nucleus with mandatory offense | Court: claim not demonstrated in record; overruled |
| Juvenile bindover lacked probable cause re: firearm; trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction | State: jurisdictional questions not shown in certified record | Johnson: juvenile court lacked probable-cause finding for firearm and bindover defects void trial court jurisdiction | Court: no record support; assignments overruled; judgment affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Aalim, 150 Ohio St.3d 489 (2017) (upholding Ohio mandatory-bindover scheme against constitutional challenge)
- State v. D.B., 150 Ohio St.3d 452 (2017) (reverse-bindover requires trial court to consider what juvenile court would have done on the convictions obtained)
- Knapp v. Edwards Laboratories, 61 Ohio St.2d 197 (1980) (appellant must provide record items necessary to support assignments of error; absent record, regularity is presumed)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective-assistance claims)
- State v. Wilson, 73 Ohio St.3d 40 (1995) (bindover defects affect subject-matter jurisdiction of common pleas court)
- State v. Payne, 114 Ohio St.3d 502 (2007) (a judgment rendered by a court lacking subject-matter jurisdiction is void)