State v. Presnell, 2011 Ohio 2801

Presnell pleaded guilty to attempted domestic violence and was sentenced to eleven months in prison.
Presnell filed a petition for postconviction relief arguing his attorney had a documented severe mental illness and addictions that rendered representation inadequate.
The trial court had not ruled on the postconviction motion as of December 15, 2010, when Presnell filed a notice of appeal, making the first assignment premature.
On direct appeal, Presnell challenged ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel’s purported issues, but the court limited review to the trial record and found the evidence insufficient to show involuntariness of the plea.
The appellate court overruled both assignments, affirmed the judgment, taxed costs, and remanded to execute the sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Premature postconviction ruling	Presnell argues the trial court erred by not holding a hearing on postconviction relief.	State contends the motion was premature since the trial court had not ruled when appeal filed.	Premature; assignment overruled.
Effective assistance of counsel and voluntariness of plea	Presnell contends counsel’s addiction/mental illness rendered plea involuntary.	State argues lack of record evidence showing plea involuntary; documents improperly considered on direct appeal.	Claim denied; defense counsel issues not shown to affect voluntariness.

Ishmail v. State, 54 Ohio St.2d 402 (Ohio 1978) (limits direct review to trial court record)
State v. Carter, 89 Ohio St.3d 593 (Ohio 2000) (claims outside the trial record are not for direct appeal)
State v. Ushry, 2006-Ohio-6287 (First Dist. 2006) (postconviction relief is the appropriate vehicle for additional evidence)