State v. Saunders, 2018 Ohio 1127

Jerome Saunders was indicted on trafficking (count 1), possession (count 2), and tampering (count 3); the trial court entered convictions on counts 2 and 3 and sentenced him on December 9, 2015.
On initial direct appeal the Fourth District dismissed for lack of a final appealable order because count 1 (trafficking) remained unresolved.
After that dismissal, the State filed a voluntary dismissal without prejudice of count 1 on March 16, 2017.
Saunders did not file a timely appeal from the now-final December 9, 2015 judgment within 30 days after March 16; instead he later filed motions in the trial court and appealed two June 26, 2017 entries: (1) a clarification that the dismissal had been filed, and (2) denial of his motion to withdraw his plea.
On appeal Saunders argued the stop of his vehicle lacked reasonable, articulable suspicion and challenged denial of his motion to suppress; he did not advance any argument on the merits of the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his plea.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Saunders)	Held
Whether the appeal challenging the conviction and denial of the suppression motion is timely and the court has jurisdiction	Saunders had 30 days from March 16, 2017 (when remaining count was dismissed) to appeal; he missed that window	The stop was unlawful and the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress (substantive challenge to conviction)	Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as untimely; appeal from convictions/suppression not considered
Whether the trial court’s denial of Saunders’s Crim.R. 32.1 motion to withdraw plea warrants reversal	Trial court’s denial is a final appealable order but appellant made no argument directed to that denial	Saunders appealed the denial but did not raise any substantive argument on that ruling	Overruled; denial of motion to withdraw plea is affirmed

State v. Brown, 59 N.E.3d 532 (4th Dist. 2016) (post-appeal dismissal of dangling counts does not itself constitute a final order but can render a prior sentencing entry final and appealable)
Ross v. Harden, 8 Ohio App.3d 34 (10th Dist. 1982) (court may not enlarge time for filing a notice of appeal)