State v. HooverState v. Hoover
{¶1} Defendant-Appellant, Seth Hoover, appeals the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Seneca County denying his motion to vacate a void and unenforceable negotiated plea bargain agreement and sentence. On appeal, Hoover argues the triаl court erred in denying his motion and by failing to correct the language in his plea agreement regarding the imposition of five years of post-release control. Hoover also contends that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. For thе reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
09CR0180
{¶3} On August 26, 2009, the Seneca County Grand Jury indicted Hoоver on one count of trafficking in heroin in violation of
{¶4} On May 3, 2010, Hoover pled guilty to the trafficking in heroin charge in 09CR180. At the change of plea hearing, the trial court advised Hoover that the maximum penalty was eight years in prison. The trial court also advised Hoover that he was subject to a mandatory five-year term of post-release control. Hoover then signed the written plea agreement, which also stated that Hoover was subject to a maximum term of five years of post-release control, in open сourt. (09CR0180 Docket No. 104, p. 1-2). Before the trial court found that Hoover’s plea was knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made, Hoover stated that he was satisfied with his attorney.
09CR0202 & 09CR0203
{¶5} In 09CR0202, the Seneca County Grand Jury indicted Hoover on September 15, 2009, with four counts of trafficking in cocaine in viоlation of
{¶6} Both parties assert that on April 14, 2010, Hoover pled guilty in case 09CR0202 to all seven counts in his indictment and also plеd guilty to the lesser included offense of trafficking in crack cocaine, in violation of
{¶7} Hoover was sentenced in all three cases on May 3, 2010. As a result of his plea agreement, the State recommended to the trial court that Hoover receive a four-year prison sеntence in case 09CR0180 and a four-year prison sentence in case 09CR0203. The State also recommend that in case 09CR0202 Hoover receive a 12-month prison sentence for counts one, two, four, and five; an 18-month prison sentence for counts three and six; and a two-year prison term for count seven. The State recommended that all counts in 09CR0202 should run concurrent with each other, but consecutive to the prison sentences in 09CR0180 and 09CR0203, for a total prison term of 10 years.
{¶8} The trial court adopted the State’s recоmmendation and sentenced Hoover to 10 years in prison. The trial court also stated that “[Hoover] has been notified that post release control is mandatory in this case up to five years * * *.” Sentencing Hearing Tr., p. 18.
{¶9} On July 28, 2010, the trial court resentenced Hoover in order to correctly notify Hoover of his post-release control sanction in all three cases. In 09CR0180, Hoover was notified that he was subject to a mandatory three-year term of post-release control. Further, in cases 09CR0202 and 09CR0203, Hoover was advised that post-release control was optional for up to three years. A journal
{¶10} On August 14, 2013, Hoover filed a motion to “vacate void unenforceable negоtiated plea bargain agreement and sentence” in cases 09CR0180, 09CR0202, and 09CR0203. In his motion, Hoover argued that his plea agreement was based upon a mutual mistake of the law and thus, his plea agreement should be vacated. Hoover also argued that he was dеnied effective assistance of counsel.
{¶11} On September 20, 2013, the trial court issued a judgment entry that denied Hoover’s motion. The court found that the Hoover could not show that the mistake in the written plea agreement had a material effect on the agreеd exchange of performances. Further, the trial court found that Hoover benefited from the mistake, as Hoover was subject to a lesser period of post-release control than he originally agreed to in the written plea agreement. As such, Hoоver failed to show that he was adversely affected.
{¶12} Hoover timely appealed this judgment, presenting the following assignments of error for our review.
Assignment of Error No. I
THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION AND ERRED WHEN IT DENIED APPELLANT’S MOTION TO VACATE VOID UNENFORCEABLE NEGOTIATED PLEA AGREEMENT AND SENTENCE PURSUANT TO THE
DOCTRINE OF MUTUAL MISTAKE OF LAW IN CONTRAT LAW.
Assignment of Error No. II
APPELLANT WAS DENIED THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL DURING THE PLEA BARGAINING PROCESS, THE SENTENCING PROCESS, AND THE RESENTENCING PROCESS.
Assignment of Error No. III
THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION AND ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW WHERE IT FAILED TO CORRECT THE LANGUAGE IN THE PLEA AGREEMENT CONTRACT REGARDING THE 5-YEAR PRC IMPOSITION.
Assignment of Error No. I
{¶13} In his first assignment of error, Hoover argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to vacate void unenforceable negotiated plea bargain agreement and sentence. We disagree.
{¶14} Initially, we must note that we are uncertain as to the type of relief that Hoover is requesting. “Regardless of how an action is labeled, the substance of the party’s arguments and the type of relief requested determine the nature of the action.” Lingo v. State, --Ohio St.3d--, 2014-Ohio-1052, ¶ 38. In his brief, Hoover asks the court to “rescind/void the [plea agreement].” Appellant’s Br., p. 4. Thus, it appears that Hoover is asking this court to restore him to his original position as if the plea agreement had never been executed. In essence, he appears to be asking to withdraw his guilty pleas because he did not knowingly and
{¶15} Appellate review of a trial court’s denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea pursuant to
{¶16}
{¶17} In the case sub judice, Hoover was properly notified of his prison sentence and that post-release control was mandatory. However, Hoover was misinformed at his original sentencing hearing and in his written plea agreements as to the length of his post-release control. Instead of receiving a mandatory five-year term of post-release control, Hoover was only subject to three years of post-release control. When this mistake was discovered, Hoover was rеsentenced and a new sentencing entry reflecting the imposition of a three-year term of post-release control was filed.2 Hoover then waited over three years to file a motion to vacate the allegedly void plea agreement.
{¶18} We cannot find that there was manifest injustice for two reasons. First, Hoover negotiated for a particular plea in order to plead guilty to a lesser included charge in 09CR0203 and also for the State’s rather lenient sentence recommendation. The State did nоt ask the trial court for the maximum prison sentence in any of Hoover’s cases and also asked the court to impose concurrent, not consecutive, sentences in 09CR0202. It is not evident from the record that
{¶19} Even if Hoover was, in fact, not arguing to withdraw his guilty plea, we would still find Hoover’s arguments meritless. His motion would be an untimely petition for post-conviction relief, as it was not filed within the 180-day time limitation prescribed in
{¶20} Accordingly, we overrule Hoover’s first assignment of error.
Assignment of Error No. II
{¶21} In his second assignment of error, Hoover contends that he was denied effeсtive assistance of counsel during his change of plea hearings, sentencing hearing, and resentencing hearing. We disagree.
{¶22} An ineffective assistance of counsel claim requires proof that trial counsel’s performance fell below objective stаndards of reasonable representation and that the defendant was prejudiced as a result. State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (1989), paragraph two of syllabus. “To show that a defendant has been prejudiced by counsel’s deficient performance, the defendant must prove that there еxists a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, the outcome at trial would have been different.” Id. at paragraph three of syllabus. “Reasonable probability” is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. State v. Waddy, 63 Ohio St.3d 424, 433 (1992), superseded by constitutional amendment on other grounds as recognized by State v. Smith, 80 Ohio St.3d 89, 103, 1997-Ohio-355.
{¶23} Even if we were to assume that Hoover’s trial counsel was deficient in his failure to catch the error in the length of post-release control, Hoover cannot prove prejudice. Fоr the reasons noted above, the likelihood that the result of the plea hearing would have been different had Hoover been advised that he was only subject to a period of three, not five, years of post-release control is negligible. Thus, we cannоt find that there is a reasonable probability that the result of the plea hearing would have been different.
{¶24} Accordingly, Hoover’s second assignment of error is overruled.
{¶25} In his third assignment of error, Hoover argues that the trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law when it failed to correct the language found in the written plea agreement regarding the imposition of five-year term of post-release control.
{¶26} This assignment of error is not properly before this court since this matter does not relate to the judgment from which Hoover appeals. The judgment from which Hoover appeals only concerns the denial of his motion to vacate void unenforceable negotiated plea bargain agreement and sentence, and his assertion that he wаs denied effective assistance of counsel. As such, we overrule Hoover’s third assignment of error.
{¶27} Having found no error prejudicial to Hoover in the particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
Judgment Affirmed
WILLAMOWSI, P.J. and SHAW, J., concur.
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