State v. Moore, 2013 Ohio 1431

Moore was convicted in October 2002 of 12 counts including aggravated robbery, rape, kidnapping, and related offenses with 11 firearm specifications, resulting in a 141-year aggregate sentence.
On direct appeal the Seventh District affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for resentencing with guidance on merging firearm specifications.
On remand (2005) the court merged some firearm specifications and dismissed a count, reducing the aggregate to 112 years; this was later vacated by a Foster-related remand for resentencing.
Moore was resentenced in January 2008, again to 112 years, and classified as a Tier III sex offender under S.B. 10.
Moore continued to appeal in subsequent matters, culminating in post-conviction motions in March–May 2012 arguing voidness of firearm-specification merging and improper SB 10 classification.
The trial court dismissed the post-conviction petitions as untimely and barred by res judicata, and Moore appealed, resulting in a partial reversal and remand for a SB 5 classification hearing while vacating the SB 10 Tier III designation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Premature labeling of post-conviction petition and void vs. erroneous sentence	Moore argues the void portion issue should be considered; the court failed to recognize voidness	State contends the sentence was not void but erroneous and precluded post-conviction review	Petition treated as post-conviction relief; untimely and barred by res judicata; error merited only partial relief
Retroactivity of SB 10 to Moore's pre-SB-10 offenses	SB 10 cannot be applied retroactively to offenses before its enactment	Classification under SB 10 was proper at resentencing and needed	SB 10 cannot be retroactively applied; remand for SB 5 classification hearing required
Remedy for improper classification and need for SB 5 hearing	Moore seeks vacatur of SB 10 Tier III designation and a hearing under SB 5	Classification should be addressed within the SB 10 framework or on direct appeal	Remand for a limited SB 5 sex offender classification hearing; vacate SB 10 Tier III designation

State v. Davis, 2012-Ohio-4112 (7th Dist. 2012) (res judicata does not bar void-sentence challenges)
State v. Fischer, 128 Ohio St.3d 92 (2010) (void-sentence doctrine not applicable; focus on merger errors)
State v. Reynolds, 79 Ohio St.3d 158 (1997) (post-conviction relief as narrow remedy; separate from direct appeal)
State v. Gondor, 112 Ohio St.3d 377 (2006) (post-conviction relief limits; res judicata analysis)
State v. Steffen, 70 Ohio St.3d 399 (1994) (limitations on post-conviction relief; narrow review)
State v. Perry, 10 Ohio St.2d 175 (1967) (res judicata baseline for defendant defenses)
State v. Williams, 129 Ohio St.3d 344 (2011) (retroactivity of SB 10 violates Section 28, Article II of Ohio Constitution)
State v. Bodyke, 126 Ohio St.3d 266 (2010) (classification scheme under Megan’s Law and SB 5/10)
State v. Weaver, 2011-Ohio-6402 (7th Dist. 2011) (remonstrance of improper SB 10 classification; SB 5 hearing on remand)
State v. Knowles, 2012-Ohio-2543 (2d Dist. 2012) (retroactive SB 10 classification void)