State v. Alexander, Unpublished Decision (8-4-2006)
State v. Alexander, Unpublished Decision (8-4-2006)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} Alexander filed a direct appeal on December 26, 1996, and his convictions were affirmed on December 5, 1997. Alexander based his Petition for Post Conviction Relief upon Blakely v.Washington (2004),
{¶ 3} Alexander lists three assignments of error at the beginning of his brief, but the body of the document contains five "Arguments." We will address the first four "arguments" together. They are as follows:
{¶ 4} "CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES COULD NOT BE IMPOSED UPON APPELLANT BECAUSE THE TRIAL COURT FAILED TO STATE ON THE RECORD THE FACTUAL FINDINGS AND FACTUAL REASONS JUSTIFYING CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES" and,
{¶ 5} "APPELLANT COULD NOT BE GIVEN A MAXIMUM SENTENCE BECAUSE THE TRIAL COURT FAILED TO STATE ON THE RECORD, THE FACTUAL REASONS FOR JUSTIFYING A MAXIMUM SENTENCE" and,
{¶ 6} "EVEN ASSUMING ARGUENDO THAT THE TRIAL COURT COMPLIED WITH OHIO'S FELONY SENTENCING STATUTES, THE SENTENCES ARE ALSO UNLAWFUL BECAUSE THEY RUN AFOUL OF THE SIXTH AMENDMENT AS INTERPRETED BY APPRENDI V. NEW JERSEY AND ITS PROGENY" and
{¶ 7} "REVISED CODE SECTION
{¶ 8} The Supreme Court's decisions in Blakely andApprendi, and confirmed by Booker, that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial prohibits judicial fact finding as a basis for imposing enhanced sentences, applies only to cases on direct review, as the trial court correctly held. We note that the Ohio Supreme Court recently declared certain portions of Ohio's felony sentencing scheme unconstitutional because they violated the same Sixth Amendment right. State v. Foster,
{¶ 9} Alexander's fifth argument is as follows:
{¶ 10} "APPELLANT'S PETITION FOR POST CONVICTION RELIEF WAS TIMELY UNDER THE LAW"
{¶ 11} The trial court addressed the merits of Alexander's Petition, and did not conclude that Alexander's petition was untimely, thus this assigned error lacks merit. In this context, we note the State refers us to our Opinion dated December 19, 2005, in which we overruled the State's motion to dismiss Alexander's appeal to this court. This argument has no bearing on the timeliness of Alexander's petition for post conviction relief filed in the trial court.
{¶ 12} Finally, Alexander complains that the trial judge did not sign his Decision. The original Decision, however, is contained in the file, and it is, in fact, signed by the trial judge.
{¶ 13} The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Brogan, J. and Walters, J., concur.
(Hon. Sumner E. Walters retired from the Third District Court of Appeals sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio).
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