State v. Nicholson

Citations

• 2021 Ohio 2584

Syllabus

Postsentence motion to withdraw guilty pleas Crim.R. 32.1 manifest injustice res judicata Crim.R. 11(C) knowing, intelligent, and voluntary guilty pleas mandatory prison term judicial release. Trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Defendant's claims that his guilty pleas were not entered knowingly and intelligently due to the trial court's alleged failure to inform him that his seven-year prison sentence for trafficking was mandatory and that he was ineligible for judicial release could have been raised on direct appeal or in his prior postconviction motions and were, therefore, barred by res judicata. Further, there is no requirement that a trial court provide information regarding eligibility or ineligibility for judicial release prior to accepting a defendant's guilty pleas. The record showed that the trial court informed defendant before he entered his guilty pleas that whatever sentence was ultimately imposed on the trafficking count would be a mandatory prison term. Even if defendant received misinformation regarding his eligibility for judicial release after sentencing, it could not have impacted the knowing, intelligent or voluntary nature of his guilty pleas.