State v. Straughter, 08ap-777 (2-12-2009)
State v. Straughter, 08ap-777 (2-12-2009)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} In this appeal, defendant-appellant, Michael Straughter, appeals from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, which denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.{¶ 2} On June 13, 2006, appellant was indicted on: three counts of aggravated robbery with specification in violation of R.C.
{¶ 3} On June 6, 2008, appellant filed with the trial court a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Appellant asserted that the indictment was structurally defective, relying upon the Supreme Court of Ohio's recent decision in State v. Colon,
{¶ 4} On appeal, appellant sets forth the following single assignment of error for this court's review:
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AND ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN FAILING TO PERMIT WITHDRAWAL OF THE PLEA, IN VIOLATION OF APPELLANT'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW.
{¶ 5} In his single assignment of error, appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Appellant argues that the Supreme Court of Ohio's recent decision in Colon I, supra, mandates that he be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea because the indictment was defective as failing to include the mens rea of the crimes. We disagree.
{¶ 6} A post-sentence motion to withdraw a plea under Crim. R. 32.1 "will only be granted in order to correct `manifest injustice.'"State v. Price, Washington App. No. 07CA47,
{¶ 7} In Colon I, supra, at ¶ 15, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that a criminal defendant's indictment for robbery under R.C.
{¶ 8} First, we note that several Ohio appellate districts have foundColon I to be inapplicable in cases where a defendant has entered a guilty plea (and consequently was not tried under the indictment). See, e.g., State v. Smith, Lucas App. No. L-07-1346,
{¶ 9} However, even assuming the holding in Colon I to be applicable to situations in which a defendant has entered a guilty plea, we agree with the trial court that the decision in Colon I does not mandate granting appellant's request to withdraw his plea. In this case, appellant was charged with and pled guilty to aggravated robbery *Page 4
under R.C.
{¶ 10} Lastly, even if appellant were able to overcome the above hurdles, the trial court was still correct in denying appellant's motion. The Supreme Court of Ohio reconsidered Colon I in State v.Colon,
{¶ 11} Based upon the foregoing, appellant has not demonstrated a manifest injustice warranting withdrawal of his guilty plea, and, therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant's motion. Accordingly, appellant's single assignment of error is overruled, and the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas is hereby affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
*Page 1BROWN and TYACK, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Michael Straughter
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published