State v. Watson

Citations

• 2021 Ohio 2773

Syllabus

Postconviction relief untimely delayed appeal findings of fact and conclusions of law. Filing a delayed appeal does not toll the 365-day time limit for filing a petition for postconviction relief. R.C. 2953.21(A)(2)(a) has been interpreted to mean that if a defendant does not file a timely direct appeal, then that defendant has 365 days from the expiration of the time they had to file a direct appeal to file a petition for postconviction relief. Here, appellant did not file a timely direct appeal and his petition was filed more than 365 days after the time he had to file a direct appeal. As such his petition was untimely. Trial courts are not required to issue findings of fact and conclusions of law in denying untimely petitions for postconviction relief. Therefore, the trial court did not err in denying appellant's untimely petition without making findings of fact and conclusions of law.