State v. Leigh, Unpublished Decision (11-02-2001)
State v. Leigh, Unpublished Decision (11-02-2001)
Opinion of the Court
Leigh was convicted of felonious assault in April 2000 and filed a direct appeal shortly thereafter. In December 2000, he filed a petition for postconviction relief in the trial court pursuant to R.C.
In his direct appeal, Leigh challenged the trial court's jurisdiction, the trial court's failure to conduct a preliminary hearing in his criminal case, the use at trial of a statement from a fellow inmate, and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. Leigh reiterates these arguments herein, but these arguments were properly raised in Leigh's direct appeal, and we addressed them in the opinion we rendered in Case No. 18294. We will not revisit these issues in this opinion. Instead, we turn to the arguments that were not cognizable on direct appeal.
Leigh argues that he was denied the effective assistance of appellate counsel because counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California
(1967),
Leigh argues that the trial court erred in failing to issue adequate findings of fact and conclusions of law in its judgment on his petition for postconviction relief. R.C.
Our review of the trial court's judgment reveals that the court did address Leigh's arguments with specificity. The trial court discussed Leigh's argument that trial counsel had been ineffective, concluding that there was no evidence that the claimed omissions had affected the outcome of the trial. The trial court also concluded that trial counsel had, in fact, done some of the things that Leigh claimed he had failed to do, such as request an instruction on a lesser included offense. Further, the trial court properly found that some of Leigh's arguments were barred byres judicata because they could have been raised on direct appeal. Although Leigh may dislike the trial court's conclusions, he cannot credibly argue that its reasons were not set forth in the judgment.
Leigh's assignments of error are overruled.
The judgment of the trial court will be affirmed.
FAIN, J. and GRADY, J., concur.
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