State v. Watters, 2017 Ohio 5640

In Aug. 2015 a Geauga County grand jury indicted Matthew M. Watters on multiple felonies and a misdemeanor arising from a vehicle flight from undercover officers; police recovered a firearm and heroin and Watters admitted intent to sell drugs.
In Nov. 2015 Watters pleaded guilty to possession of heroin (R.C. 2925.11), having a weapon while under disability (R.C. 2923.13), and failure to comply with police (R.C. 2921.331); remaining counts were dismissed.
Sentencing was deferred for a PSI and briefs; the trial court later imposed consecutive terms totaling 10 years (five years + 30 months + 30 months).
Four months after sentencing Watters filed a Crim.R. 32.1 motion to withdraw his guilty plea, supported by an affidavit claiming his trial counsel told him there was a 2–4 year deal from the “judge/prosecutor” and instructed him to deny any promises.
The trial court (the same judge who took the plea) denied the motion without an evidentiary hearing, finding the affidavit not credible because it contradicted Watters’ on-the-record plea answers, relied on hearsay, and was untimely.
The appellate court affirmed, holding the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the post‑sentence motion and in assessing the affidavit’s credibility without a hearing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying a post‑sentence Crim.R. 32.1 motion to withdraw plea	State: trial court properly evaluated affidavit and plea colloquy and did not abuse discretion	Watters: his affidavit sufficiently alleges involuntariness and the court should have accepted it and held a hearing	Affirmed: trial court may assess credibility and deny motion absent hearing when affidavit is contradicted by plea colloquy and is hearsay/untimely

State v. Calhoun, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (1999) (sets factors for assessing credibility of affidavits in postconviction/post‑plea proceedings and permits courts to evaluate affidavits without an evidentiary hearing.)