State v. Walton

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 5214

Syllabus

Aggravated vehicular homicide; aggravated vehicular assault; operating vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs; ineffective assistance of counsel; abuse of discretion. The then 20-year old defendant, while traveling at a high rate of speed, crashed his vehicle into a tree and three teenage girls died from injuries they sustained and two other people were injured. After his motion to suppress blood alcohol tests was denied, defendant pled guilty to several counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault as well as operating vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. His convictions were affirmed on appeal, and his motion to reopen appeal was denied. Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea alleging ineffective assistance of counsel that was denied. When a defendant claims ineffective assistance of counsel at the time of a plea, he must show that counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and defendant would have insisted on going to trial. Defendant argued trial counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue a strategy to attack the procedure for blood alcohol testing and had counsel done so, he would have gone to trial. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the motion to withdraw plea. Defendant did not point to anything in the record to indicate trial counsel had a basis to attack the requirements for blood testing or that such challenge would have resulted in the suppression of the blood test. As such, defendant did not show trial counsel's decision to focus efforts on challenging the results of the blood test itself, not on the procedure, fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. Further, the record did not demonstrate that even had counsel been ineffective, defendant would have gone to trial where other evidence of impairment existed.