State v. Waters, 2022 Ohio 3166

Robert Waters was indicted on possession of a fentanyl-related compound (felony), child endangering (misdemeanor), and possessing drug abuse instruments (misdemeanor) for conduct on May 19, 2021.
After plea negotiations, Waters pled guilty to possession of a fentanyl-related compound and child endangering in exchange for dismissal of one count and an agreed two-year prison sentence; he signed the plea form and received a full Crim.R. 11 colloquy.
While on bond Waters removed his electronic monitor; a capias was issued and bond revoked; Waters later obtained new counsel prior to sentencing.
At the sentencing hearing Waters made an oral, pre-sentence motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, claiming he misunderstood that he would be eligible to serve part of the sentence in a halfway house.
The trial court denied the motion (finding Waters knew the consequences and had agreed to the sentence, and noting the bond violation) and imposed the agreed sentence; Waters appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Waters’ motion to withdraw his guilty plea	State: Plea was knowing, voluntary, and part of an agreed two-year sentence; Waters had no reasonable, legitimate basis to withdraw	Waters: Motion was pre-sentence; he misunderstood eligibility for halfway house and blamed prior counsel; seeks withdrawal to avoid mandatory confinement portion	Court: Treated motion as pre-sentence (agreed sentence); applied pre-sentence standard and nine-factor balancing test; found no abuse of discretion and affirmed denial

State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d 521 (1992) (pre-sentence withdrawal standard: defendant must show a reasonable, legitimate basis)
State v. Smith, 49 Ohio St.2d 261 (1977) (post-sentence withdrawal requires showing of manifest injustice)
AAAA Enters., Inc. v. River Place Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., 50 Ohio St.3d 157 (1990) (defines "abuse of discretion" as unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable)