State v. SpringerState v. Springer
Judgment Affirmed
APPEARANCES:
W. Alex Smith for Appellant
Phillip A. Riegle for Appellee
{1} Defendant-appellant, Joshua Springer, appeals the September 22, 2022 judgment of sentence of the Hancock County Court of Common Pleas. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
I. Facts & Procedural History
{2} On June 9, 2020, the Hancock County Grand Jury indicted Springer on one count of importuning in violation of
{3} A change of plea hearing was held on January 24, 2022. At the hearing, Springer withdrew his previous not guilty pleas and entered guilty pleas to both counts of the indictment. The trial court accepted Springer‘s pleas and found him guilty. The trial court set a sentencing hearing for April 28, 2022.
{4} On April 18, 2022, Springer filed a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Springer advanced several reasons for his request, including that his trial counsel “failed to thoroughly go over the motion of discovery and other pertinent information in this case and/or negotiate a plea bargain” and that his trial counsel “overstated risks of proceeding to trial to pressure [him] into accepting the plea of guilty.” A hearing on Springer‘s motion to withdraw was held in place of the
{5} A sentencing hearing was eventually held on September 22, 2022, with Springer being represented by new counsel. At the hearing, the trial court sentenced Springer to 11 months in prison for importuning and 60 days in jail for sexual imposition. The trial court ordered that the terms of incarceration be served concurrently. The trial court filed its judgment entry of sentence on September 22, 2022.
II. Assignment of Error
{6} On October 3, 2022, Springer timely filed a notice of appeal. He raises the following assignment of error for our review:
The trial court erred by denying the defendant‘s motion to withdraw his plea.
III. Discussion
{7} In his assignment of error, Springer argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Specifically, Springer contends that the trial court should have granted his motion because “he had a valid basis for the filing and it was timely filed before sentencing.”
{8} “The decision to grant or deny a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea is within the sound discretion of the trial court.” State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d 521 (1992), paragraph two of the syllabus. “Therefore, appellate review of a
{9} A motion to withdraw a guilty plea is governed by
A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or no contest may be made only before sentence is imposed; but to correct manifest injustice the court after sentence may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw his or her plea.
Although “a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea should be freely and liberally granted[,] * * * a defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw a plea prior to sentencing.” Xie at 527.
{10} “A trial court must conduct a hearing to determine whether there is a reasonable and legitimate basis for the withdrawal of the plea.” Id. at paragraph one of the syllabus.
When reviewing a trial court‘s denial of a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea, this court considers several factors, including: (1) whether the withdrawal will prejudice the prosecution; (2) the
State v. Liles, 3d Dist. Allen No. 1-18-69, 2019-Ohio-3029, ¶ 11. “None of the factors is determinative on its own and there may be numerous additional aspects ‘weighed’ in each case.” State v. North, 3d Dist. Logan No. 8-14-18, 2015-Ohio-720, ¶ 16.
{11} Having reviewed the record, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Springer‘s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. As the State did not contend at the withdrawal hearing that it would be prejudiced if Springer were permitted to withdraw his guilty pleas, the first factor weighs in favor of allowing the withdrawal. However, the remaining factors support the trial court‘s decision to deny Springer‘s motion to withdraw.
{12} To begin, before accepting Springer‘s guilty pleas, the trial court conducted a thorough colloquy in compliance with
{13} In addition, before denying Springer‘s withdrawal motion, the trial court conducted a hearing at which Springer was afforded a full opportunity to explain his reasons for wanting to withdraw his guilty pleas. During the hearing, the trial court actively questioned Springer, and in ruling on Springer‘s motion, the trial court exhaustively examined the factors weighing for and against granting the motion and gave a clear explanation why it was denying the motion. Consequently, the fourth and fifth factors weigh in favor of the trial court‘s decision denying Springer‘s motion to withdraw.
{14} Concerning the seventh factor—the reasons for Springer‘s motion—we are unconvinced that Springer had a legitimate basis for withdrawing his guilty pleas. At the hearing, Springer elaborated on the grounds set forth in his motion, explaining that he only had about an hour to review the discovery, that he “didn‘t get to go through [the discovery] as deeply as [he] would have liked,” and that he felt “just a little bit of coercion” from his trial counsel to “get the case over.” (Apr. 28, 2022 Tr. at 11-12, 20). But the record contradicts Springer‘s claims. Specifically, at the change of plea hearing, the trial court asked Springer whether he had had a chance to review the discovery with his attorney, whether he had had the opportunity to ask his attorney questions about the discovery, and whether his trial counsel had answered his questions. (Jan. 24, 2022 Tr. at 12-15). Springer answered affirmatively to each of the trial court‘s questions. (Jan. 24, 2022 Tr. at
{15} Moreover, at the hearing on Springer‘s withdrawal motion, Springer‘s trial counsel stated that he had an opportunity to review the discovery with Springer and that he “gave [Springer] [his] honest opinion, after 20 years of being a criminal defense attorney, * * * of what [he] felt would happen.” (Apr. 28, 2022 Tr. at 7). Springer‘s trial counsel further explained that it was difficult to contact Springer in the days leading up to his plea and that this might have contributed to Springer‘s more-abbreviated review of the discovery materials. (See Apr. 28, 2022 Tr. at 17-18). Springer‘s trial counsel also said that he “was an advocate that [he] didn‘t think trial was in [Springer‘s] best interests” and that he encouraged Springer to enter a plea but “never to the point of coercion.” (Apr. 28, 2022 Tr. at 20-21). Thus, not only do Springer‘s trial counsel‘s statements serve as a counterpoint to Springer‘s claims but they also evidence that Springer received competent, quality representation in the lead-up to his guilty pleas. Therefore, the second and seventh factors weigh in favor of the trial court‘s decision denying Springer‘s motion to withdraw.
{16} With respect to the sixth factor—the timing of the motion—we agree with the trial court that the timing of Springer‘s motion weighs against allowing him to withdraw his guilty pleas. Specifically, the trial court found that Springer did not file his motion to withdraw within a reasonable time because “[t]he issues Mr. Springer spell[ed] out on the record certainly occurred prior to the entry of the plea” and “[t]here‘s nothing in the record that indicates [the motion] couldn‘t have been filed sooner.” (Apr. 28, 2022 Tr. at 31). We, like the trial court, find it notable that Springer, although aware of the eventual bases for his request to withdraw his guilty pleas, waited nearly three months to file his motion and filed it only when his sentencing date was nigh. Consequently, the sixth factor supports the trial court‘s decision to deny Springer‘s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas.
{17} Finally, nothing in the record of this case suggests that Springer was perhaps not guilty of the offenses with which he was charged or that Springer had a complete defense to the charges. Thus, the ninth factor supports the trial court‘s decision to deny Springer‘s motion.
{18} Considering the totality of the circumstances, the trial court‘s decision to deny Springer‘s motion was not unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable. From the record, it appears either that Springer was attempting to delay a potential prison sentence or had second thoughts about his decision to plead guilty and wanted to backtrack. Indeed, at the withdrawal hearing, Springer stated that, having thought
{19} Springer‘s assignment of error is overruled.
IV. Conclusion
{20} For the foregoing reasons, Springer‘s assignment of error is overruled. Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant herein in the particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the judgment of the Hancock County Court of Common Pleas.
Judgment Affirmed
WILLAMOWSKI and ZIMMERMAN, J.J., concur.
/jlr