State v. Chaney, 88529 (5-10-2007)
State v. Chaney, 88529 (5-10-2007)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} In each of the four cases at issue here (as well as a fifth case which is not included in this appeal), appellant entered a plea of guilty to one or more criminal charges on October 24, 2000. The journal entries reflecting the pleas each state that "as part of plea in defendant's five pending cases, the state agrees to a sentence for defendant of no more than 15 years and no less than 20 years [sic]." Appellant was sentenced on December 27, 2000 as follows:
*Page 4Case No. 393419 — four years' imprisonment on each of four counts, to run concurrently with one another and concurrently with the sentences in the other cases.
Case No. 393431 — seven years' imprisonment on one count, to run concurrently with the sentences in the other cases.
Case No. 394011 — one year imprisonment on one count, to run consecutive to the sentence imposed in Case Nos. 392440 and 394297, and concurrent to the sentence imposed in Case Nos. 393431 and 393419.
Case No. 394297 — nine years' imprisonment on each of three counts, to run concurrently with one another and with Case Nos. 393431 and 393419 but consecutive to Case Nos. 392440 and 394011.
{¶ 3} On June 2, 2006, appellant filed a motion in each of these cases asking the court to vacate or correct the sentences because they were unconstitutional under Blakely and Foster. The court overruled these motions. Appellant now appeals these decisions.
{¶ 4} Appellant urges that the sentences imposed upon him were void because they exceeded the statutory minimum terms and the court made them consecutive with one another based on statutes whichFoster declared unconstitutional.1 Appellant did not have a direct appeal pending at the time that Foster was decided. The court inFoster emphasized that to vacate the sentence and resentence the offender was an appropriate remedy only for those cases pending on direct review. Foster at ¶¶ 104 and 106. In the context of collateral *Page 5
review, "[application of constitutional rules not in existence at the time a conviction became final seriously undermines the principle of finality which is essential to the operation of our criminal justice system." Teague v. Lane (1989),
{¶ 5} Appellant's motion before the trial court must be construed at a petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 6} Pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 7} "(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
{¶ 8} "(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." R.C.
{¶ 9} Appellant cannot meet the first of these two conditions. Appellant's claim does not rely on any facts which he may have been unavoidably prevented from discovering. Furthermore, although appellant's claim is arguably3 based on the United States Supreme Court's recognition of a new federal right, that right does not apply retroactively to post-conviction relief claims. Both Foster, atTf 104 and United States v. Booker (2005),
{¶ 10} Under Teague,
{¶ 11} Appellant's petition for post-conviction relief was not timely filed and appellant did not meet any of the exceptions set forth in R.C.
Affirmed.
It is ordered that appellee recover from appellant costs herein taxed.
*Page 8The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the common pleas court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
ANTHONY O. CALABRESE, JR., P.J., and ANN DYKE, J., CONCUR
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Lamar Chaney
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published