STATE OF OHIO, Appellee v. THOMAS CHARLES CRANGLE, Appellant
C.A. No. 25735
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
November 9, 2011
[Cite as State v. Crangle, 2011-Ohio-5776.]
DICKINSON, Judge.
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO CASE No. CR 06 12 4299
Dated: November 9, 2011
DICKINSON, Judge.
INTRODUCTION
{¶1} Thomas Crangle pleaded guilty to rape, and the trial court sentenced him to life in prison. Mr. Crangle appealed, and this Court affirmed his conviction and sentence. Two years later, Mr. Crangle moved to withdraw his plea, arguing that the trial court failed to tell him about post-release control before accepting his plea. Because the court failed to impose post-release control in its sentence, Mr. Crangle also moved for a corrected sentence. The trial court held a hearing on Mr. Crangle‘s motions and corrected the post-release control error under
{¶2} Mr. Crangle‘s assignment of error is that the trial court incorrectly denied his motion to withdraw his plea. He moved to withdraw his plea because the trial court did not tell him about post-release control at his plea colloquy and the Ohio Supreme Court has held that, “[i]f the trial court fails during the plea colloquy to advise a defendant that the sentence will include a mandatory term of postrelease control, the court fails to comply with
{¶3} Sarkozy is distinguishable because Michael Sarkozy raised his argument on direct appeal. In this case, Mr. Crangle waited until almost two years after this Court affirmed his conviction to raise this issue. Accordingly, Sarkozy is not controlling.
{¶4} In State ex rel. Special Prosecutors v. Judges, Court of Common Pleas, 55 Ohio St. 2d 94 (1978), Ronald Asher pleaded guilty to murder and the trial court accepted his plea, resulting in his conviction. The Seventh District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court‘s judgment. Mr. Asher then moved to withdraw his plea under
{¶5} The Ohio Supreme Court noted that “the pivotal issue herein presented is whether the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction in vacating [Mr. Asher‘s] plea of guilty subsequent to the Court of Appeals’ affirmance of its prior judgment convicting the appellee on the basis of his guilty plea.” State ex rel. Special Prosecutors v. Judges, Court of Common Pleas, 55 Ohio St. 2d 94, 96 (1978). It determined that a trial court loses jurisdiction over a case when an appeal is
{¶6} In this case, Mr. Crangle appealed the trial court‘s judgment to this Court, and we affirmed his conviction, which was based on his guilty plea. The trial court, therefore, did not have authority, under Special Prosecutors, to consider Mr. Crangle‘s motion to withdraw his plea under
{¶7} Mr. Crangle has argued that Special Prosecutors does not apply to this case because we remanded his case to the trial court in our prior opinion. He has pointed to language in that opinion that “[w]e order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common Pleas, County of Summit, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution.” State v. Crangle, 9th Dist. No. 24033, 2008-Ohio-5703, at ¶13. Even if that language were sufficient to constitute a “remand,” it was limited to the specific purpose of carrying the judgment into effect. See State ex rel. Rogers v. Marshall, 4th Dist. No. 05CA3004, 2008-Ohio-6341, at ¶32. In State v. O‘Neal, 9th Dist. No. 06CA0056-M, 2008-Ohio-1325, this Court reversed Mr. O‘Neal‘s sentence and remanded for resentencing consistent with State v. Foster,
{¶8} Before concluding our analysis, we must determine the extent to which the Supreme Court‘s holding in Special Prosecutors has been affected by its recent decision in State v. Davis, ___ Ohio St. 3d ___, 2011-Ohio-5028. A jury convicted Roland Davis of aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to death. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentence on appeal. Mr. Davis petitioned for post-conviction relief, but the trial court dismissed his petition without holding an evidentiary hearing. While his appeal from that decision was pending, Mr. Davis moved for leave to file a motion for new trial based on newly discovered DNA evidence under
{¶10} At first glance, Special Prosecutors may appear inconsistent with Davis‘s “does not bar . . . posttrial motions” language because a defendant may move to withdraw his plea even after he has been convicted.
{¶11} Under Special Prosecutors, the trial court did not have authority to consider Mr. Crangle‘s motion to withdraw his plea. Mr. Crangle‘s assignment of error is overruled.
CONCLUSION
{¶12} A trial court does not have authority to consider a motion to withdraw a defendant‘s guilty plea after the court of appeals has affirmed his conviction and sentence. The judgment of the Summit County Common Pleas Court 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 Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to
Costs taxed to Appellant.
CLAIR E. DICKINSON
FOR THE COURT
WHITMORE, J. CONCURS IN JUDGMENT ONLY, SAYING:
{¶13} I agree that Crangle‘s sole assignment of error must be overruled. Based on State ex rel. Special Prosecutors v. Judges, Court of Common Pleas (1978), 55 Ohio St.2d 94, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider Crangle‘s motion to withdraw his plea. I would not discuss State v. Davis, Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-5028, as this case does not involve either a motion for a new trial or an argument premised upon newly discovered evidence. See Davis at paragraph two of the syllabus. Accordingly, I concur in judgment only.
BELFANCE, P. J. DISSENTS, SAYING:
{¶14} I respectfully dissent, as I would conclude that based upon State v. Sarkozy, 117 Ohio St.3d 86, 2008-Ohio-509, at ¶26, Mr. Crangle is entitled to withdraw his plea as the trial court and defense counsel mistakenly agreed during the plea colloquy that Mr. Crangle was not subject to post-release control; thus, Mr. Crangle was not informed during his plea of his post-
{¶15} The majority does not address the merits of Mr. Crangle‘s arguments as it concludes that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider Mr. Crangle‘s motion based on the authority of State ex rel. Special Prosecutors v. Judges, Court of Common Pleas (1978), 55 Ohio St.2d 94. Further, the majority concludes that the recent Supreme Court of Ohio decision of State v. Davis, Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-5028, does not alter this conclusion. For the reasons outlined below, I disagree.
{¶16} As I noted in my separate opinion in State v. Molnar, 9th Dist. No. 25267, 2011-Ohio-3799, at ¶¶16-37 (Belfance, J., concurring in judgment only), I do not agree with this Court‘s decision to expand the holding of Special Prosecutors beyond the facts of that case. Like Mr. Crangle, the defendant in Special Prosecutors filed a motion to withdraw his plea after his conviction had been affirmed on direct appeal. See Special Prosecutors, 55 Ohio St.2d at 96. However, unlike Mr. Crangle, the defendant in Special Prosecutors challenged the validity of his plea on direct appeal. See State v. Asher (March 3, 1976), 7th Dist. No. 1183. Thus, “[t]he Special Prosecutors’ holding, considered in light of the facts before the Court, is consistent with general practice – when the court of appeals has considered and decided an issue,” the trial court cannot reconsider that specific issue at a later time. Molnar at ¶23. It is my continued view that ”Special Prosecutors is limited to those cases where an appellate court has considered and passed upon an issue, thus depriving a trial court of authority to alter the appellate court‘s decision.” Id. As Mr. Crangle did not challenge the voluntary nature of his plea on direct
{¶17} Moreover, my view is not altered by the Supreme Court‘s recent decision in Davis. In fact, Davis supports the notion that the Supreme Court‘s holding in Special Prosecutors was limited and should not be read as expansively as courts of appeals have done in the recent past. Davis at ¶37. While Davis addressed whether a trial court had jurisdiction to consider a motion for a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence after the conviction had been affirmed on direct appeal, see id., the Court included language addressing posttrial motions in general. The Supreme Court stated:
“We take this opportunity to specify that the holding in Special Prosecutors does not bar the trial court‘s jurisdiction over posttrial motions permitted by the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure. These motions provide a safety net for defendants who have reasonable grounds to challenge their convictions and sentences. The trial court acts as the gatekeeper for these motions, and, using its discretion, can limit the litigation to viable claims only. In light of the foregoing, we hold that a trial court retains jurisdiction to decide a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence when the specific issue has not been decided upon direct appeal.” Id.
While it is true, as pointed out by the majority, that the Court used the phrase “posttrial motions” as opposed to post-sentence motions, id., there is nothing in the opinion to suggest the same reasoning would not apply to post-sentence motions to withdraw a guilty plea that were likewise based on a “specific issue [that was] not decided upon direct appeal.” Id. Thus, as I believe Davis supports the view that the holding of Special Prosecutors should be limited to its facts, I would conclude the trial court possessed jurisdiction to consider Mr. Crangle‘s motion. Further, as noted above, as Mr. Crangle was not informed of his post-release control obligations during his plea colloquy, under Sarkozy he is entitled to withdraw his plea. Sarkozy at ¶26. Accordingly, I dissent.
STEPHEN P. HARDWICK, Assistant Public Defender, for Appellant.
SHERRI BEVAN WALSH, Prosecuting Attorney, and HEAVEN DIMARTINO, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Appellee.