State v. Wooden, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2002)
State v. Wooden, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2002)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} On February 16, 1999, appellant was indicted on two counts of rape, which are violations of R.C.
{¶ 3} On April 7, 2000, appellant pled guilty to two counts of corruption of a minor, which are violations of R.C.
{¶ 4} On March 12, 2002, appellant filed a motion for leave to file a delayed appeal of his conviction, which this court denied on May 21, 2002. On March 18, 2002, appellant filed a "motion for relief of judgment" relating to the June 29, 2000 judgment, alleging that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and that the charges, pleas, conviction, and sentence were void and in contravention of his constitutional rights. The trial court denied the motion on March 26, 2002, stating that appellant had asserted substantially similar claims in his December 4, 2001 motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, which the court had already found without merit. Appellant appeals the trial court's judgment, asserting the following two assignments of error:
{¶ 5} "[I.] Trial court erred as a matter of law, and abused its sound discretion; by failing to address and determine [jurisdiction of the subject matter][.]
{¶ 6} "[II.] Trial court erred as a matter of law, and abused its sound discretion; by accepting defendant's pleas and overruling his motion for relief of judgment without making a factual determination of the merits regarding the [charges, plea and conviction][.]"
{¶ 7} Appellant's assignments of error will be addressed together, as they are related. Appellant essentially argues in both assignments of error the trial court erred in denying his "motion for relief from judgment." In order to review the denial of this motion and know the criteria by which we should judge it, we must categorize the motion. That appellant acted pro se with regard to this motion in the trial court and also on appeal makes our own inquiry into the true nature of the motion even more difficult. Appellant indicated in his "motion for relief from judgment" that it was pursuant to Civ.R 60(B), Crim.R. 12(B)(2), and Crim.R. 57(B). We will first analyze his motion under these rules.
{¶ 8} Appellant does not specifically explain, but we assume he cited Crim.R. 57(B) in an attempt to utilize Civ.R. 60(B). Crim.R. 57(B) permits a court to look to the rules of civil procedure if no applicable rule of criminal procedure exists. Although Civ.R. 60(B) is a civil rule, on occasion courts, including this court, have entertained Civ.R. 60(B) motions in criminal cases. See State v. Israfil (Nov. 15, 1996), Montgomery App. No. 15572; State v. Garcia (Aug. 24, 1995), Franklin App. No. 94APA11-1646; State v. Riggs (Oct. 4, 1993), Meigs App. No. 503; State v. Wells (Mar. 30, 1993), Franklin App. No. 92AP-1462; and State v. Groves (Dec. 23, 1991), Warren App. No. CA91-02-014.
{¶ 9} Appellant is not entitled to relief under Civ.R. 60(B) for several reasons. Initially, we note that appellant does not indicate under which subsection he seeks Civ.R. 60(B) relief. Nevertheless, the basis of appellant's motion for relief from judgment was that his constitutional rights were violated because the indictment was insufficient to state an offense under R.C.
{¶ 10} With regard to appellant's reliance upon Crim.R. 12(B)(2), we assume appellant meant Crim.R. 12(C)(2). Effective July 1, 2001, Crim.R. 12(B) was redesignated as Crim.R. 12(C). The rule remains otherwise identical. Appellant apparently cites this rule based upon the same allegation that the indictment was insufficient to state an offense under R.C.
{¶ 11} However, even assuming appellant did not waive his argument, it would be without merit. The gist of appellant's "motion for relief of judgment" is that his guilty plea was void and violated his constitutional rights because the crimes to which he pled guilty, corruption of a minor under R.C.
{¶ 12} "* * * [T]he fact that [appellant] proceeded to plead to a different offense [than the one contained in the indictment] does not void his conviction. The petitioner's actions under the circumstances of this case, in voluntarily entering a plea of guilty while represented by counsel, constituted a waiver of his constitutional right to indictment or information. Although such procedure may be erroneous it does not affect the validity of his conviction. * * *" Id. at 189.
{¶ 13} The court in Stacy continued:
{¶ 14} "The petitioner in the instant case is in no position to urge such issue as error inasmuch as he voluntarily joined in the procedure. In other words, if error exists he induced or invited it by his own conduct, and under such circumstances he cannot rely upon it to attack his conviction. Mercelis v. Wilson,
{¶ 15} In the present case, appellant's actions in voluntarily entering a plea of guilty to two counts of corruption of a minor while represented by counsel, constituted a wavier of his constitutional right to indictment. Appellant joined in negotiating a reduction of the first-degree felony rape counts to third-degree felony counts of corruption of a minor. This was a favorable outcome for appellant, and the waiver principle set forth in Stacy applies to preclude appellant from challenging the indictment. See, also, State v. Keaton (Jan. 14, 2000), Clark App. No. 98 CA 99; State v. Cowen (Feb. 26, 1981), Franklin App. No. 80AP-851.
{¶ 16} Although the above findings are sufficient, in and of themselves, to affirm the trial court's judgment, we feel it necessary to address another matter. The trial court did not dismiss appellant's motion based upon the merits or any of the above-cited rules. Rather, the trial court denied appellant's "motion for relief of judgment" based upon res judicata, indicating that appellant had previously raised the same issues in his December 4, 2001 motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. The state concurs that appellant's motion should be dismissed based upon res judicata. The state asserts that appellant's December 4, 2001 motion to withdraw his guilty pleas and his "motion for relief of judgment" were both petitions for post-conviction relief pursuant to State v. Reynolds (1997),
{¶ 17} To analyze the application of res judicata under the theory propounded by the state, it is necessary to categorize both appellant's December 4, 2001 motion to withdraw his guilty pleas and his "motion for relief of judgment" and analyze their interplay. In determining the precise nature of the motions, neither the trial court nor the parties had the benefit of the Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in State v. Bush (2002),
{¶ 18} However, how to categorize appellant's March 18, 2002 "motion for relief of judgment" is less obvious. Appellant's motion alleged, in essence, that: (1) his guilty pleas were void and not knowing or voluntary because the indictments were insufficient to state an offense under R.C.
{¶ 19} If neither appellant's December 4, 2001 motion to withdraw his guilty pleas nor his March 18, 2002 "motion for relief from judgment" are petitions for post-conviction relief, they would not be subject to the rule urged by the state that prohibits successive petitions for post-conviction relief on the grounds of res judicata. See State v. Apanovitch (1995),
{¶ 20} Appellant's March 18, 2002 motion was based on the exact same grounds and facts as his December 4, 2001 motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Because the trial court's denial of appellant's first motion to withdraw his guilty pleas was an adjudication on the merits of his claims and was based on the same facts and sought the same relief as the second motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, the trial court's denial of his first motion operated under res judicata to bar the successive motion. Several pre-Bush decisions found that, even if a motion to withdraw a guilty plea is not considered a petition for post-conviction relief, as the Supreme Court eventually settled in Bush, res judicata would still preclude a successive motion to withdraw guilty pleas based upon the same grounds. See State v. Reynolds, Putnam App. No. 12-01-11, 2002-Ohio-2823 (majority and dissent both finding that Crim.R. 32.1 motions should not be treated as petitions for post-conviction relief, and agreeing that the doctrine of res judicata would clearly apply to successive motions under Crim.R. 32.1 where there had been a final adjudication upon a previous motion to withdraw a guilty plea); State v. Unger (May 23, 2001), Adams App. No. 00CA705 (assuming arguendo that the defendant's motion should have been categorized as a Crim.R. 32.1 motion, her motion would be barred by res judicata because she had previously filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea that she did not appeal prior to filing the second motion to withdraw guilty plea, citing State v. Cale [Mar. 23, 2001], Lake App. No. 2000-L-034); (finding that Crim.R. 32.1 motions should not be treated as petitions for post-conviction relief, but holding that, nevertheless, a second motion to withdraw a guilty plea is barred by res judicata); State v. Jackson (Mar. 31, 2000), Trumbull App. No. 98-T-0182 (res judicata applies to successive motions to withdraw a guilty plea filed pursuant to Crim.R. 32.1). Thus, we find that, assuming appellant's "motion for relief of judgment" could be construed as a successive motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, appellant's March 18, 2002 motion would also be barred by res judicata. For the foregoing reasons, the trial court properly denied appellant's March 18, 2002 motion. Therefore, appellant's first and second assignments of error are overruled.
{¶ 21} Accordingly, we overrule appellant's two assignments of error and affirm the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Judgment affirmed.
LAZARUS and PETREE, JJ., concur.
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