State v. Chapman, Unpublished Decision (8-10-2004)
State v. Chapman, Unpublished Decision (8-10-2004)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Howard A. Chapman, appeals from a November 14, 2003 judgment entry of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas denying his motion for post-conviction relief.{¶ 2} On March 25, 2002, defendant pleaded guilty to one count of felonious assault. On April 25, 2002, the trial court sentenced defendant to a five-year term of incarceration. Thereafter, defendant appealed his conviction and sentence, asserting that his guilty plea had not been knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily made. In State v. Chapman, Franklin App. No. 02AP-666, 2003-Ohio-2415, we affirmed defendant's conviction.
{¶ 3} On October 28, 2003, defendant filed a motion captioned "MOTION FOR RE-SENTENCING PURSUANT TO §
First Assignment of Error Mr. Chapman pleaded guilty to felonious assault, throwing himself upon the mercy of the court as to the sentence. But he was sentenced to a (5), year prison term for Felonious Assault. The proper sentence would have been for "assault" because Mr. Chapman did not cause "serious physical harm["] upon the victim. While the discomfort to the victim was certainly physical harm, it does not fall into any of the definitional categories for "serious physical harm[.]"
Second Assignment of Error
The trial court erred when it construed the statute of R.C.
The appellant also contend [sic] that the sentence imposed by the trial court for the felonious assault count did not accord with R.C. §
{¶ 4} We will address defendant's assignments of error out of order for organizational purposes. Under his second assignment of error, defendant first argues that the trial court erred in treating his motion as a petition for post-conviction relief. We disagree. It is well-settled that a vaguely titled motion to correct or vacate a sentence, such as that filed by defendant, should be construed as a motion for post-conviction relief under R.C.
{¶ 5} Despite our conclusion that the trial court properly dismissed defendant's motion for post-conviction relief, we will briefly address defendant's remaining arguments.
{¶ 6} Defendant also argues under his second assignment of error that the trial court's sentence was improper because the court did not find that defendant had "committed the worst [form] of the offense" as required by R.C.
{¶ 7} Defendant's second assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 8} In his first assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court erred in imposing a five-year prison sentence for felonious assault, as the evidence was sufficient only to establish the offense of assault. Initially, because defendant could have challenged the propriety of his five-year sentence on direct appeal, the doctrine of res judicata bars him from raising the issue in any subsequent proceeding. State v. Williams,
{¶ 9} More importantly, given this court's previous conclusion that defendant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently entered a guilty plea to the offense of felonious assault (see Chapman, supra), the question of whether the evidence would have been sufficient to prove defendant guilty of felonious assault is completely irrelevant.
{¶ 10} Defendant's first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 11} In his third assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court failed to comply with the requirements of R.C.
* * * [I]f the court imposing a sentence upon an offender for a felony elects or is required to impose a prison term on the offender, the court shall impose the shortest prison term authorized for the offense pursuant to division (A) of this section, unless one or more of the following applies:
(1) The offender was serving a prison term at the time of the offense, or the offender previously had served a prison term.
(2) The court finds on the record that the shortest prison term will demean the seriousness of the offender's conduct or will not adequately protect the public from future crime by the offender or others.
This provision has been interpreted to require a trial court that imposes other than a minimum sentence to make oral findings on the record that either one or both of the requirements of R.C.
{¶ 12} The transcript of defendant's sentencing hearing establishes that the trial court expressly found that imposing the minimum sentence on defendant would demean the seriousness of defendant's conduct and would not adequately protect the public from future crime. Accordingly, the trial court complied with the requirements of R.C.
{¶ 13} Appellant's third assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 14} Having overruled defendant's three assignments of error, we affirm the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Judgment affirmed.
Bowman and Bryant, JJ., concur.
"(1) Both of the following apply: "(a) Either the petitioner shows that the petitioner was unavoidably prevented from discovery of the facts upon which the petitioner must rely to present the claim for relief, or, subsequent to the period prescribed in division (A)(2) of section "(b) The petitioner shows by clear and convincing evidence that, but for constitutional error at trial, no reasonable factfinder would have found the petitioner guilty of the offense of which the petitioner was convicted or, if the claim challenges a sentence of death that, but for constitutional error at the sentencing hearing, no reasonable factfinder would have found the petitioner eligible for the death sentence. "(2) The petitioner was convicted of a felony, the petitioner is an inmate for whom DNA testing was performed under sections
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Howard A. Chapman
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Unpublished