JEROME MOHAMMAD v. STATE OF OHIO
No. 98655
Court of Appeals of Ohio, EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
November 29, 2012
2012-Ohio-5517
Civil Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. CV-772781
JUDGMENT: REVERSED
BEFORE: Jones, P.J., Cooney, J., and E. Gallagher, J.
RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: November 29, 2012
Terry H. Gilbert
Friedman & Gilbert
1370 Ontario Street, Suite 600
Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1752
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Timothy J. McGinty
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
Brian R. Gutkoski
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
Justice Center, Courts Tower
1200 Ontario Street, 8th Floor
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
{¶1} This cause came to be heard upon the accelerated calendar pursuant to
{¶2} Plaintiff-appellant, Jerome Mohammad, appeals from the trial court‘s judgment granting the state of Ohio‘s motion for summary judgment and finding that he was not a wrongfully imprisoned individual under
I. Procedural History
{¶4} On January 1, 2008, the Ohio legislature enacted Senate Bill 10 (“S.B. 10“), which was based on the federal Adam Walsh Act (“AWA“). The AWA changed the classification and registration requirements for offenders convicted of sexually oriented offenses, and as a result, Mohammad was reclassified as a Tier I offender and, as such, was required to report and verify his address every 90 days for life.
{¶5} On June 16, 2009, despite Mohammad‘s compliance with the reporting requirements under Megan‘s Law, he was indicted for failing to verify his address under the AWA in violation of
{¶6} Following the Ohio Supreme Court‘s decision in State v. Bodyke, 126 Ohio St.3d 266, 2010-Ohio-2424, 933 N.E.2d 753, that held the AWA provisions authorizing the Attorney General to reclassify persons judicially classified under Megan‘s Law was an unconstitutional delegation of judicial authority to the executive branch, Mohammad filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Later, in July 2011, the Ohio Supreme Court
{¶7} On September 26, 2011, under the authority of Williams, the trial court granted Mohammad‘s motion, vacated his conviction for failure to verify, and ordered him released from prison. Subsequently, on January 5, 2012, Mohammad filed a complaint seeking a declaration under
{¶8} As grounds for its motion, the state argued that Mohammad was not a wrongfully imprisoned individual because he pleaded guilty to the offense for which he was charged. The trial court agreed, denied Mohammad‘s summary judgment motion, and granted the state‘s motion for summary judgment. Mohammad now appeals.
{¶9} Mohammad‘s sole assignment of error reads as follows: “The trial court erred by finding a voided guilty plea sufficient to bar application of
II. Law and Analysis
{¶10} In his assigned error, Mohammad contends that the trial court erred in granting the state‘s summary judgment motion upon its finding that Mohammad‘s guilty plea for failure to verify barred a declaration that he was a wrongfully imprisoned individual. We agree.
the moving party demonstrates that (1) there is no genuine issue of material fact, (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and (3) reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made.
Capella III at ¶ 16, citing Gilbert v. Summit Cty., 104 Ohio St.3d 660, 2004-Ohio-7108, 821 N.E.2d 564, ¶ 6. Therefore, we undertake an independent review to determine whether the state was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
{¶12}
- (1) The individual was charged with a violation of a section of the Revised Code by an indictment or information prior to, or on or after, September 24, 1986, and the violation charged was an aggravated felony or felony.
- (2) The individual was found guilty of, but did not plead guilty to, the particular charge or a lesser-included offense by the court or jury involved, and the offense of which the individual was found guilty was an aggravated felony or felony.
(3) The individual was sentenced to an indefinite or definite term of imprisonment in a state correctional institution for the offense of which the individual was found guilty. - (4) The individual‘s conviction was vacated or was dismissed, or reversed on appeal, the prosecuting attorney in the case cannot or will not seek any further appeal of right or upon leave of court, and no criminal proceeding is pending, can be brought, or will be brought by any prosecuting attorney, city director of law, village solicitor, or other chief legal officer of a municipal corporation against the individual for any act associated with that conviction.
- (5) Subsequent to sentencing and during or subsequent to imprisonment, an error in procedure resulted in the individual‘s release, or it was determined by a court of common pleas that the offense of which the individual was found guilty, including all lesser-included offenses, either was not committed by the individual or was not committed by any person.
{¶13} According to the state, because Mohammad pleaded guilty to the failure to verify charge, he cannot qualify as a wrongfully imprisoned individual under subsection (A)(2) of the statute.
{¶14} Recently, we were presented with an analogous situation in Johnson v. State, 8th Dist. No. 98050, 2012-Ohio-3964. In Johnson, the prisoner was convicted of rape, classified as a sexual oriented offender under Megan‘s Law, and later reclassified as a Tier I offender under the AWA. Like the instant case, the prisoner in Johnson, pleaded guilty to failing to verify his address under the AWA in violation of
{¶15} Similarly, the prisoner filed a complaint seeking to be adjudicated a wrongfully imprisoned individual. Correspondingly with the instant case, the trial court rejected the complaint in Johnson and granted summary judgment in favor of the state.
{¶17} In reliance on Moore, in Johnson at ¶ 12-15 we stated:
[T]he Fourth Appellate District “liberally construed”
R.C. 2743.48 to permit a person who had pleaded guilty to an offense to qualify as a wrongfully imprisoned individual. The defendant in Moore pleaded guilty to murder in 1995 upon the advice of his counsel. In advising the client to plead, counsel failed to inform the defendant that exculpatory gunshot residue evidence existed (i.e., evidence that showed that the defendant tested negative for gunshot residue, and that another suspect tested positive). After pleading guilty and being sentenced, the defendant learned of the gunshot residue evidence and filed motions for postconviction relief and to withdraw his guilty plea. The defendant‘s motions were granted.The case proceeded to a jury trial and the gunshot residue evidence was presented. The jury acquitted the defendant and he subsequently filed a motion seeking a declaration that he was a wrongfully imprisoned individual. The trial court granted the defendant‘s motion and the state appealed.
In addressing the “was found guilty of, but did not plead guilty to,” language of
R.C. 2743.48 , the Fourth Appellate District found the statute to be a “remedial law,” subject to “liberal construction.” Id. at ¶ 21. The court reasoned that: “interpretingR.C. 2743.48 liberally would result in assuring that a plea that has been determined to have no legal effect does not, in fact, have any legal effect upon either the criminal or civil matters associated with the case. This would further the remedial goals of the statute by addressing the particularly egregious wrong of imprisoning an individual not only wrongfully, but also unconstitutionally.” Id. at ¶ 23.
{¶18} In accord, we reaffirm that a void guilty plea does not exist for purposes of determining whether a person has the right to seek compensation under
{¶19} Judgment reversed.
It is ordered that appellant recover of appellee his costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate be sent to said court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
LARRY A. JONES, SR., PRESIDING JUDGE
COLLEEN CONWAY COONEY, J., and
EILEEN A. GALLAGHER, J., CONCUR