State v. Mullins
2013 Ohio 1826
Ohio Ct. App.2013Background
- Appellant Mullins twice entered a Sam’s Club lot and removed used batteries on July 25, 2011; first daytime theft, second at about 11 p.m.
- He and an accomplice sold some of the batteries to a scrap yard in Franklin County thereafter.
- Franklin County prosecutors charged Mullins with receiving stolen property, leading to a misdemeanor plea on October 11, 2011.
- Fairfield County later indicted Mullins for breaking and entering related to the Reynoldsburg Sam’s Club incident.
- Mullins moved to dismiss the Fairfield County indictment on double jeopardy grounds; the trial court denied the motion and Mullins pled no contest to breaking and entering, receiving a nine-month sentence suspended with five years of community control.
- The court of appeals affirmed, holding Mullins was not barred from prosecution under double jeopardy and that his Franklin County plea did not resolve charges in Fairfield County.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether subsequent prosecution in Fairfield County violated double jeopardy | Mullins argues Blockburger/Double Jeopardy bars successive prosecutions | Mullins relies on the idea the Franklin County plea should have resolved all Batteries-related charges | Not barred; Blockburger test shows distinct offenses and no same-elements issue |
| Whether Mullins reasonably expected the Franklin County plea to resolve Fairfield County charges | Pleas in one jurisdiction effectively end other charges | Plea agreements do not bind other counties or charges | No reasonable expectation; plea did not resolve Fairfield County charges |
Key Cases Cited
- Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1932) (two offenses with no overlap in proof of essential facts may be separate offenses)
- Tolbert v. State, 60 Ohio St.3d 89 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1991) (Blockburger test governs subsequent prosecutions for offenses with overlapping elements)
- University of Cincinnati v. Tuttle, 2009-Ohio-4493 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2009) (applies Blockburger to subsequent prosecutions; discusses same-elements and lesser-included offenses)
- Rashad v. Burt, 108 F.3d 677 (6th Cir., 1997) (distinguishable from case; single search-warrant context not present here)
- State v. Edwards, 2011-Ohio-95 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2011) (discusses limits of combining municipal plea resolutions with felony charges)
- State v. Zima, 102 Ohio St.3d 61 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2004) (plea in one court cannot resolve charges in another county)
- State v. Billingsley, 2012-Ohio-4307 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2012) (county prosecutor cannot bind charges outside county of election)
- Carpenter v. State, 68 Ohio St.3d 59 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1993) (state cannot indict after a negotiated guilty plea unless reserved on record)