State v. Siddle, 2017 Ohio 2843

Adam Siddle pled guilty on August 10, 2015 to 16 counts (theft, money laundering, telecommunications fraud, forgery) and was sentenced September 23, 2015 to an aggregate seven-year prison term; no direct appeal was timely filed.
On April 11, 2016 Siddle filed a petition for postconviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel (eight grounds) and requested appointed counsel.
The trial court appointed Attorney David Sams to represent Siddle for work on the appeal; Sams later filed an Anders brief and a motion to withdraw.
The trial court denied the postconviction petition on July 20, 2016 for lack of evidentiary support and declined to appoint counsel for a hearing; Siddle appealed pro se and later pursued the appeal with Sams as appointed counsel.
This appeal challenges the denial of postconviction relief; Siddle also raises claims about ineffective appellate/postconviction counsel and argues the trial court failed to state sentencing reasons (an issue not raised below).

Issue	State's Argument	Siddle's Argument	Held
Whether petitioner was entitled to appointed or effective counsel in postconviction proceedings	Postconviction proceedings are civil; no constitutional right to counsel absent a hearing with arguable merit	Siddle sought appointment and claims ineffective assistance of postconviction/appellate counsel	Denied — no constitutional right to effective counsel in postconviction proceedings; appointment not required where no hearing set
Whether trial counsel was ineffective such that postconviction relief is warranted	Claims could have been raised on direct appeal and lacked evidentiary support	Siddle argued trial counsel’s ineffectiveness caused his guilty plea	Denied — claims are barred by res judicata because they could have been raised on direct appeal and petitioner presented no supporting evidence
Whether trial court abused discretion by failing to state sentencing reasons	State did not address a new sentencing claim on appeal	Siddle contends the court failed to give reasons for a seven-year sentence for a defendant with no prior record	Denied as raised for first time on appeal and therefore barred by res judicata/procedural posture

Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551 (1987) (no constitutional right to counsel in postconviction proceedings)
State v. Crowder, 60 Ohio St.3d 151 (1991) (public defender must be appointed for postconviction hearing when issues have arguable merit)
State v. Perry, 10 Ohio St.2d 175 (1967) (res judicata bars claims that were or could have been raised on direct appeal)
Grava v. Parkman Twp., 73 Ohio St.3d 379 (1995) (res judicata principles in Ohio civil context)
State v. Scudder, 131 Ohio App.3d 470 (1998) (no Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel in postconviction proceedings)
Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) (procedures when counsel seeks to withdraw on appeal as frivolous)