State v. Larson, Unpublished Decision (5-9-2005)
State v. Larson, Unpublished Decision (5-9-2005)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} Larson is a registered sex offender and was required to verify his current residence on December 16, 2003 pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 3} Larson was indicted on one count of Failure to Verify Current Residence in violation of R.C.
{¶ 4} Seven months later, Larson filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and a motion for a new trial, asserting claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and actual innocence. In two orders issued December 28, 2004 the trial court denied both motions. The trial court found that Larson had submitted no evidence to support his claims of actual innocence and had failed to show ineffectiveness of counsel. Larson now appeals from the judgment entry denying his motion for withdrawal of his guilty plea, asserting three assignments of error. For ease of discussion, we will address the assignments of error out of order.
{¶ 5} In his second and third assignments of error, Larson argues that the trial court erred in failing find that relief from his previous guilty plea was required to correct a manifest injustice. He claims that police documents show that he was not actually required to verify his residency until September 2004, and that therefore he did not violate the statute by failing to do so in December 2003.
{¶ 6} A motion to withdraw a guilty plea is governed by the standards set forth in Crim.R. 32.1, which states:
A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty . . . may be made only beforesentence is imposed; but to correct manifest injustice the court aftersentence may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit thedefendant to withdraw his or her plea.
Larson filed his motion to withdraw his guilty plea seven months after the imposition of his sentence. Therefore, the trial court could only grant his motion to withdraw his plea if it found a manifest injustice.
{¶ 7} The Ohio Supreme Court has stated that the requirement in Crim.R. 32.1 that there be a manifest injustice before a court can allow a withdraw of a guilty plea limits the availability of withdrawals to "extraordinary cases." State v. Smith (1977),
{¶ 8} Larson maintains that this qualifies as an "extraordinary" case because there is evidence showing that he is actually innocent of the charged offense. He points to documents which he says prove that he was not required to verify his address until September of 2004. Larson claims that these documents demonstrate that he was incarcerated on December 3, 1997, the date the State claims he initially registered as a sex offender, and that he was not released until September 7, 1999. He then points to R.C.
If the offender's duty to register is imposed pursuant to division(A)(1)(a) of section
Larson therefore claims that he was not in violation of R.C.
{¶ 9} There are two flaws in appellant's argument. First, the fact that he verified his address on August 19, 2003 does not relieve him of his annual verification obligation, even if Larson is correct that his initial registration date is September 8, 2003. The statute makes clear that sex offenders who have not been adjudicated sexual predators are required to register annually, on the date of their initial registration. R.C.
{¶ 10} Second, Larson has failed to present any evidence which would demonstrate that his initial registration date was September 8, 1999 rather than December 3, 1997 as alleged in the indictment. As stated previously, the burden is on Larson to demonstrate a manifest injustice.State v. Smith (1977),
{¶ 11} Larson relies on R.C.
If the offender's duty to register is imposed pursuant to division(A)(1)(b) of section
{¶ 12} We are unable to determine from the record the date of Larson's sentence for his sexually-oriented offense, and thus are unable to determine if Larson was required to register on the date of his release from prison or on the date of his judgment of conviction under R.C.
{¶ 13} Moreover, the documentary evidence available clearly indicates that Larson initially registered on December 3, 1997 as listed in the indictment. A sex offender registration card submitted by the State lists the date of his initial registration as December 3, 1997. Moreover, the State submitted a document signed by Larson himself on the date of his last verification, August 19, 2003, explaining his duties to register as a sex offender. That document states that Larson was required to register annually as a sexually oriented offender, and that Larson was required to re-register on December 3, 2003.
{¶ 14} Accordingly, we find that Larson has failed to submit documentary evidence showing that he was not required to verify his address until September 2004. As such, Larson has failed to fulfill his burden of demonstrating a manifest injustice, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying his post-conviction motion for withdraw of guilty plea. Based on the foregoing, Larson's second and third assignments of error are overruled.
{¶ 15} The entry of a guilty plea is an admission of factual guilt. See Crim.R. 11(B)(1). A criminal defendant who pleads guilty is limited on appeal; he may only attack the voluntary, knowing, and intelligent nature of the plea and "may not thereafter raise independent claims relating to the deprivation of constitutional rights that occurred prior to the entry of the guilty plea." State v. Spates (1992),
{¶ 16} To demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel, the burden is on the criminal defendant to "show that counsel's performance was deficient." Strickland v. Washington (1984),
{¶ 17} In a post-conviction motion arguing ineffective assistance of counsel, "the petitioner bears the initial burden . . . to submit evidentiary documents containing sufficient operative facts to demonstrate the lack of competent counsel and also that the defense was prejudiced by counsel's ineffectiveness." State v. Jackson (1980),
{¶ 18} Larson argues that his counsel was ineffective because she failed to investigate the indicted charges. Had counsel conducted a proper investigation, Larson contends, she would have discovered the documents indicating that he had fulfilled his obligations to annually verify his residence on August 19, 2003.
{¶ 19} As previously stated, Larson has failed to submit any evidentiary documents supporting his argument that his address verification on August 19, 2003 fulfilled his obligations under R.C.
{¶ 20} Thus, Larson has provided no documentary evidence that further investigation on behalf of his counsel would have resulted in evidence demonstrating that Larson was not required to re-register on the date alleged in the indictment. All of the evidence in the record demonstrates that he was required to re-register on that date. Therefore, Larson has failed to demonstrate that counsel's further investigation would have resulted in information that would have caused him to not plead guilty. Thus, Larson has failed to establish the second prong of Strickland.
{¶ 21} Based on the foregoing, Larson's first assignment of error is overruled. We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Larson's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Accordingly, the judgment of trial court denying his motion is affirmed.
Judgment Affirmed. Bryant and Rogers, J.J., concur.
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