State v. Ivy, Unpublished Decision (9-18-2002)
State v. Ivy, Unpublished Decision (9-18-2002)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 4} "The trial court erred in accepting the Defendant[`s] plea as the Court failed to follow the procedures established in Rule 11(E) of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure and therefore violated the Defendant's Due Process Rights."
{¶ 5} The case before us involves a petty misdemeanor. See Crim.R. 2(C) and (D). Pursuant to Crim.R. 11(E), a court shall not accept a plea of guilty or no contest in a petty misdemeanor case "without first informing the defendant of the effect of the plea of guilty, no contest, and not guilty." Crim.R. 11(B) is entitled, "Effect of guilty or no contest pleas," and states in part that a guilty plea is a complete admission of guilt and that a no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is an admission of the truth of the facts alleged and it shall not be used against the defendant in any subsequent civil or criminal action. Crim.R. 11(B)(1) and (2).
{¶ 6} At least nine of the twelve appellate districts have held that in accepting a plea, regardless of whether it be a plea to a felony, a serious misdemeanor, or a petty misdemeanor, the trial court must advise the defendant of more than just a definition of a guilty plea and a no contest plea. See State v. Lacy (Apr. 12, 2002), 2nd Dist. No. 2001-CA-130 (criticizing these nine districts but providing a plethora of example citations to the various districts). These courts note that the three rights from Boykin v. Alabama (1969),
{¶ 7} In Toledo v. Chiaverini (1983),
{¶ 8} The Second and Tenth Appellate Districts have disagreed with the other districts. In Lacy, the Second District found that a trial court must advise a petty misdemeanor defendant of the effect of his plea by telling him what each plea means but need not advise the defendant of the constitutional rights he is waiving. The Tenth District believes that the "effect of a plea" requires more than the Second District does, stating that there must be dialogue between the court and the defendant and the court must mention the possible penalties. However, the Tenth District simultaneously stated that it continues to disagree withChiaverini.
{¶ 9} The Ohio Supreme Court currently has the issue pending before it on the certification of State v. Watkins (Nov. 16, 2001), 2nd Dist. No. 2001-CA-15 with Chiaverini and Wanzo. We note that the case is fully briefed and even includes a trial judge's association's amicus brief. The certified issue is whether a court complies with Crim.R. 11(E) by informing the defendant of the information in Crim.R. 11(B) or whether the court must engage in a colloquy with the defendant that is substantially equivalent to that required by Crim.R. 11(C) as in felony cases.
{¶ 10} Here, the court never spoke to the defendant at the combined plea and sentencing hearing. In fact, the defendant never orally entered a plea or otherwise spoke. Rather, the court itself purported to place the plea on the record. (Tr. 8). The court mentioned the right to a trial, but did not mention a jury or any other constitutional right. (Tr. 5). The court may have warned that it wanted jail time prior to finding appellant guilty, but there was no mention of the potential penalty except when discussing the penalty that was available, but not imposed, for appellant's second offense. (Tr. 4). Not that the written plea is a sufficient substitute, but even it advised appellant nothing besides the state's recommendation.
{¶ 11} Finally, the court did not inform the defendant of the basic effect (definition) of the pleas of guilty, no contest, and not guilty. Regardless of the Supreme Court's future decision in Watkins, even under the Second District's minimalistic view of Crim.R. 11(E), the trial court failed to comply with its requirements. Hence, rather than staying this case to await decision by the Supreme Court in Watkins, we shall reverse and remand.
{¶ 12} On remand, the court should continue to follow the prior case law of this district until the Supreme Court releases Watkins. See, e.g., State v. Lintner (Sept. 21, 2001), 7th Dist. No. 732 (meaningful dialogue); State v. Jackson (May 9, 2001), 7th Dist. No. 99-CO-57 (constitutional rights and maximum penalty to know effect of plea); Statev. Hlinovksy (May 1, 2001), 7th Dist. No. 99BA65 (potential penalty);State v. Payne (Dec. 19, 2000), 7th Dist. No. 00521CA (applying Boykin and Ballard to misdemeanor pleas). As such, besides advising the defendant of the meaning of the various pleas and asking the defendant to personally place his plea on the record, the trial court should fully advise the defendant of the constitutional rights being waived and the possible penalty in a meaningful dialogue. Otherwise, the court risks reversal again if the Supreme Court decides Watkins in line with the majority of appellate districts.
{¶ 13} For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is hereby reversed and this cause is remanded for further proceedings according to law and consistent with this court's opinion.
Waite, J., concurs.
DeGenaro, J., concurs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.