State v. Fatula, 07 Be 24 (3-21-2008)
State v. Fatula, 07 Be 24 (3-21-2008)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Pro se Appellant Daniel J. Fatula appeals the judgment of the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas dismissing his petition for postconviction relief. Appellant argues that his counsel was ineffective for promising a six-month prison term to a second-degree felony charge of burglary, and for promising that he would get drug treatment as part of the sentence. The record does not reflect that any promises were made regarding a specific prison term. The record also indicates that the trial court did order drug treatment for Appellant. Appellant's arguments are not supported by the record, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.{¶ 2} Appellant was indicted on October 4, 2006, on one count of burglary, R.C.
{¶ 3} Sentencing took place on January 19, 2007. The court's sentencing journal entry is dated January 22, 2007. The court sentenced Appellant to three years in prison, and ordered him to pay $850 in restitution. The court also ordered, "that Defendant be considered for intense drug and alcohol treatment for his alcohol/drug addictions while incarcerated in the penitentiary." (1/22/07 Journal Entry, p. 4.)
{¶ 4} Appellant did not file a direct appeal of his conviction and sentence. On March 23, 2007, Appellant filed a petition to vacate his conviction and sentence. Appellant argued that his counsel was ineffective for not insuring that he would be sentenced to only six months in prison. Appellant also argued that he received clemency for crimes committed in the State of Florida, and that his counsel failed to mention this to the trial court at sentencing. A document attached to the petition indicated that Appellant received a restoration of civil rights in Florida, but it did not indicate that clemency was granted. The state opposed the petition to vacate, arguing that there was never any discussion during the plea negotiations that Appellant would be sentenced to only six months in prison. The state pointed out that a six-month prison term is not a possible sentence for a second degree felony, which carries a minimum prison term of two years. The state indicated that there was nothing in Appellant's petition indicating any ineffective assistance of counsel or irregularity in the plea or sentencing process.
{¶ 5} The trial court treated Appellant's petition as a petition for postconviction relief. The court overruled the petition on May 14, 2007. Appellant *Page 3 filed this appeal on June 12, 2007. Appellant does not raise any assignments of error in this pro se appeal, instead he simply sets forth his argument in a ten-page handwritten brief.
{¶ 7} R.C.
{¶ 8} To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of defense counsel, a postconviction petitioner must demonstrate that: (1) counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, and (2) counsel's deficient performance prejudiced him.Strickland v. Washington (1984),
{¶ 9} The record indicates that Appellant entered a plea of guilty to the burglary charge. "Entry of a voluntary guilty plea waives ineffective assistance of counsel claims except to the extent that counsel's performance causes the waiver of Defendant's trial rights and the entry of his plea to be less than knowing and voluntary." State v.Kidd, 2nd Dist. No. 03CA43,
{¶ 10} Appellant's argument that his counsel failed to secure drug treatment for him is also directly contradicted by the record. The court's journal entries from both the plea hearing and the sentencing hearing contain specific orders regarding requests for evaluation and treatment for Appellant's substance abuse problems.
{¶ 11} It is not clear what argument Appellant is attempting to make regarding supposed clemency in Florida, because the document that Appellant relies on does not indicate he received clemency. The document only reflects he may have had certain civil rights restored to him after serving a felony sentence.
{¶ 12} Appellant has failed to prove or even allege that he was prejudiced by his counsel's alleged actions, and prejudice is one of the required elements of proving ineffective assistance of counsel. In order for ineffective assistance of counsel to have caused prejudice in the context of a guilty plea, the defendant must show that he would not have entered into the plea agreement and that counsel's actions precluded the defendant from entering the plea knowingly and voluntarily. *Page 6 State v. Gegia,
{¶ 13} Appellant's arguments are overruled, and the judgment of the trial court dismissing the petition for postconviction relief is affirmed.
Donofrio, J., concurs.
DeGenaro, P.J., concurs. *Page 1
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Daniel J. Fatula
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published