State v. Ratcliff

Citations

• 2026 Ohio 1357

Syllabus

Where the trial court failed to explain to a felony defendant during a plea colloquy that he faced indefinite prison terms, and where the court gave an inaccurate explanation about the maximum prison terms that the defendant faced on each charge, a \complete\ failure to comply with Criminal Rule 11(C)(2)(a)'s maximum-penalty requirement occurred. The defendant therefore had no obligation to demonstrate that he was prejudiced by the errors, and his guilty pleas are vacated.