State v. Davis, Unpublished Decision (5-30-2002)
State v. Davis, Unpublished Decision (5-30-2002)
Opinion of the Court
In June 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested appellant in Las Vegas, Nevada on the parole violation warrant. Appellant was transported to Lorain Correctional Institute, arriving on June 20, 1996. On July 10, 1996, appellant was picked up by Mahoning County operatives and transported to the county jail to be tried for felonious assault.
A speedy trial hearing was held on two days in April 1998 where the court's purpose was to determine whether the triple count provision applied to require appellant to be tried in ninety days, rather than two hundred seventy days, or whether the triple count provision did not apply due to a parole holder. Parole Officer O'Malley testified for the state. On April 13, 1998, the trial court found that because appellant was being held on a parole holder, the triple count provision did not apply. The court thus denied the motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds. The case was then tried to the court. On April 28, 1998, appellant was found guilty of felonious assault with a firearm specification. He was sentenced to three years of actual incarceration plus twelve to fifteen years of imprisonment.
On direct appeal to this court, his sole assignment of error contended that the court erred in denying his motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds. This court affirmed on multiple grounds. We upheld the trial court's decision that there existed a valid parole holder. We also noted that appellant's counsel had filed a written waiver of his speedy trial rights on November 26, 1996. Finally, we calculated continuances requested by defendant and held that appellant's speedy trial rights were not violated, with or without a parole holder. State v. Davis (June 30, 1999), Mahoning App. No. 98CA97. The Supreme Court declined discretionary review.
In the meantime, appellant filed for a writ of mandamus, which we transferred to the Tenth Appellate District who dismissed the action. Appellant also filed various actions in federal court. In so doing, he came across various documents in 1999, concerning his parole holder status. On March 19, 2001, appellant attached these documents to a petition for post-conviction relief and an amendment and supplement thereto. On August 23, 2001, the trial court summarily denied his petition. Appellant filed timely notice of appeal.
"COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION, BY DISMISSING PETITIONER/APPELLANT'S MOTIONS, WITHOUT GIVING FINDINGS OF FACTS."
"COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WITHOUT GIVING PETITIONER AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING ON THE NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE."
Pursuant to R.C.
Returning to the substance of R.C.
Appellant argues that he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the documents that he attached to his petition. He believes that these documents show that his parole holder was nonexistent because he had been recommitted for a parole violation. First, he points to an APA document which states that his parole holder of June 20, 1996 was inactive in February 1997, which is the date of the document. Then, he directs our attention to an APA document which implies that there never existed an active parole holder and which states that the holder was inactive on the document's date in October 1997. Finally, he focuses on a response in his habeas action where the respondent stated that the parole holder became inactive as a result of the Mahoning County proceedings. Additionally, attached to a supplement to his appellate brief is a portion of the respondent's answer in the mandamus action which states that appellant's parole was revoked in 1996 and he was recommitted to prison.
He concludes that the parole officer's testimony was untruthful at the speedy trial hearing and this prevented his attorney from determining the true nature of his holder status. Thus, he pronounces he was unavoidably prevented from discovering these documents, one of which was generated in 1999. He then states that if the trial court knew his true status at the speedy trial hearing, his case would have been dismissed for speedy trial violations.
Appellant was jailed pending his trial. His bond was set at $20,000. Under R.C.
The trial court found that the triple count did not apply because appellant was also in jail on a parole holder, also called a detainer. See Ohio Adm. Code
Moreover, there is no allegation of why he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the two documents from the APA. These existed prior to his hearing. There is no evidence or allegation of a subpoena deuces tecum or other request for documents under any release of records rules. See, e.g., Ohio Adm. Code
Regardless, appellant mistakenly equates the APA's terminology "inactive" with the words nonexistence or invalid. According to testimony before the trial court and the documents submitted by appellant in support of his petition, a parole holder existed. Whether it was active or inactive is irrelevant for purposes of the triple count provision. An active parole holder exists when it is the only item restraining the offender. When other items (such as bond on a new case, a warrant, or a hold from another jurisdiction) restrain the offender, the parole holder becomes inactive. The inactive holder still exists and activates upon the posting of bail or dismissal of charges. See State v. Harris (Feb. 10, 1997), Stark App. No. 1996CA43. See, also, 4/1/98 Speedy Trial Hearing Transcript. Accordingly, the documents presented by appellant in support of his petition do not reveal new evidence and do not demonstrate that he would not have been convicted if the court had before it these documents.
As for attachment to his supplemental brief, parties may not place evidence before this court that was not before the trial court or that is not in the record of the case. Hence, we need not address the respondent's answer to the mandamus action which states that appellant's parole was revoked in 1996 and he was recommitted. See R.C.
Furthermore, this court has previously opined that appellant waived his speedy trial rights through a written waiver filed by his attorney. Statev. Davis (June 30, 1996), Mahoning App. No. 98CA97. A defendant is bound by an attorney's waiver. State v. McBreen (1978),
Given our disposition of these arguments, the court could not entertain the petition according to R.C.
For the foregoing reasons, appellant's arguments are without merit, and the judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.
Donofrio, J., concurs.
Waite, J., concurs.
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