State v. Moore

Citations

• 185 N.E.3d 216
• 2022 Ohio 522

Syllabus

Statute-of-limitations, ineffective assistance of counsel, reasonable diligence, motion to dismiss, guilty plea. When a defendant pleads guilty, he waives certain defenses, including challenges to the statute of limitations. However, he may still challenge the convictions if he can establish that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and that counsel's error(s) were such that they rendered his plea infirm. In the instant case, the state filed a John Doe-DNA indictment a week prior to the statute of limitations expiring. Three years later the defendant was identified via DNA match. However, whereas here, the record reflects that the defendant was knowable prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, there is a legitimate question as to whether the state used reasonable diligence in establishing the defendant's identity. Because the state bears the burden of proving that a prosecution was commenced within the statute of limitations, there was a reasonable probability that a motion to dismiss based on the statute-of-limitations would have been granted based on the facts of this case. Therefore, counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to dismiss based on the statute-of-limitations. Additionally, because the record reflects that the defendant would have likely withdrawn his plea and demanded his counsel proceed with trying the case, the convictions must be reversed.