STATE OF OHIO v. MELVIN L. BOWARE
C.A. No. 27446
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
December 31, 2014
[Cite as State v. Boware, 2014-Ohio-5779.]
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO CASE No. CR 1993-06-1412
HENSAL, Presiding Judge.
{¶1} Melvin Boware appeals from a judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleаs that denied his motions to vacate his plea agreement. For the following reasons, this Court affirms.
I.
{¶2} In August 1993, Mr. Boware pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexuаl imposition. The trial court sentenced him to one year in prison, which it suspended, pending his completion of two years of probation. Mr. Boware did not appeal the court‘s judgment. The following year, the court granted him early termination of his probation.
{¶3} In 2013, Mr. Boware petitioned for post-conviction relief. He also filed a motion to vacate his conviction or for the trial court to order a new trial. Among his allegations was that the State failed to reveal the identity of his accuser. According to Mr. Boware, on thе day in question, he had intimate contact with a prostitute named Patricia. Whеn he was arrested, the
{¶4} The trial court denied Mr. Boware‘s petition and motions. This Court affirmed its judgment on appeal. Mr. Boware subsequently filed a new motion for post-convictiоn relief and an application for DNA testing. The trial court denied his filings. On May 1, 2014, Mr. Boware filed two new motions to vacate his plea, a motion to comрel DNA evidence, and a motion to have the court rule on newly discovered evidence. A month later, he filed another motion to vacate his plea agreement and a motion for discovery of information. On July 9, 2014, the trial сourt denied all of his pending motions. Mr. Boware has appealed the denial of his motions to vacate his plea agreement.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
THE COMMON PLEAS JUDGE ABUSED HIS DISCRETION AS THE APPELLANT[‘S] CONVICTION WAS A MANIFEST INJUSTICE AS IT WAS [AN] UNJUST ACT.
{¶5} Mr. Boware arguеs that he would not have pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition if the State hаd told him which Patricia had made a sexual assault complaint against him. He, therefore, argues that the trial court incorrectly determined that he has not established manifest injustice under
{¶6} The doctrine of res judicata “bars the assertion оf claims against a valid, final judgment of conviction that have been raised оr could have been raised on appeal.” State v. Ketterer, 126 Ohio St.3d 448, 2010-Ohio-3831, ¶ 59. It extends to argument “made in support of
{¶7} In his prior motions to vaсate, Mr. Boware made the same argument about his misidentified accuser аs he did in the motions to vacate that are the subject of this appeаl. Because Mr. Boware has previously litigated this issue, we conclude that his argument is barred under the doctrine of res judicata. Id. at ¶ 8. Mr. Boware‘s assignment of error is overruled.
III.
{¶8} The trial court correctly denied Mr. Boware‘s motions to vacate his plea agreement. The judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
There were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common Pleas, County of Summit, State of Ohiо, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to
Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the period for review shall begin to run.
JENNIFER HENSAL
FOR THE COURT
CARR, J.
WHITMORE, J.
CONCUR.
APPEARANCES:
MELVIN L. BOWARE, pro se, Appellant.
SHERRI BEVAN WALSH, Prosecuting Attorney, and RICHARD S. KASAY, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Appellee.