State v. Bartimus, Unpublished Decision (2-18-2003)
State v. Bartimus, Unpublished Decision (2-18-2003)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} After being informed of his rights and of the consequences of his plea, Bartimus was found guilty. Prior to sentencing, the state, the arresting officer, defense counsel, and Bartimus were asked if they wished to speak. All declined. The court sentenced Bartimus to 180 days with 105 days suspended under the conditions of two years supervised probation, no further violations of traffic laws for two years, and the payment of a $250 fine and costs. Additionally, Bartimus' driver's license was suspended for one year.
{¶ 4} From this judgment, Bartimus timely appeals.
{¶ 6} To reverse a conviction based upon ineffective assistance of counsel, Bartimus must prove the two prong test set forth in Stricklandv. Washington (1984),
{¶ 7} The judicial scrutiny of counsel's conduct must be highly deferential. State v. Carter (1995),
{¶ 8} To demonstrate deficient performance, Bartimus argues that his counsel's decision not to make a statement before sentencing deemed him "a complete non-entity." Bartimus specifically finds fault in counsel for failing to present any mitigating evidence to the court prior to sentencing. Bartimus terms this decision as "complete inactivity." He argues that, in light of this failure to speak, "[a]s a practical matter, he [Bartimus] had no counsel at all during the sentencing phase."
{¶ 9} Despite Bartimus' contention, he fails to present to this court what particular evidence his counsel should have presented on his behalf. State v. Parker, 2d Dist. No. 18855, 2002-Ohio-1891 (discussing the presentation of mitigation evidence at a sexual predator hearing). As such, this court cannot speculate whether any mitigating evidence exists which would have impacted Bartimus' sentence. Id.; State v. Sands (Mar. 7, 1994), 3d Dist. No. 12-93-7.
{¶ 10} Furthermore, the Ohio Supreme Court recognizes that failure to present evidence in the penalty phase as a tactical decision. SeeState v. Keith (1997),
{¶ 11} Even if it could be stated that trial counsel acted objectively unreasonable and therefore the first prong of Strickland is established, the record does not reflect that Bartimus could satisfy the second prong of Strickland. As stated above, while advising Bartimus of the effect his change in plea will have, the court reminds him that there are 12 additional suspensions open on his record. Later, the court again references those additional suspensions, asking:
{¶ 12} "Do you understand that on our plea of no contest, I am going to decide this case based on the facts that I just read into the record indicating the date time and place of your conduct and the fact that the suspension that I — suspensions that I noted exist on your record. Do you understand that?" (Tr. 5).
{¶ 13} The totality of the circumstances fail to demonstrate a reasonable probability that, were it not for the serious errors made, the outcome of the case would have been different. The mere number of the open suspensions indicate that offering any mitigation evidence in all likelihood would not have benefited Bartimus. Ward,
{¶ 14} For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Donofrio and Waite, JJ., concur.
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