State v. Wisler

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 2363

Syllabus

PLEAS – NO CONTEST – EXPLANATION-OF-CIRCUMSTANCES – COMPETENCY: Where defendant pleaded no contest to violating a protection order by visiting her ex-husband's home the explanation-of-circumstances was sufficient, although the protection order was not in the record, where the state recited on the record when the incident had occurred, the existence of a valid protection order, and that the defendant was found on her ex-husband's lawn in violation of that order. Defendant did not proffer sufficient evidence of incompetency to warrant a competency evaluation where the record shows that defendant understood that her actions, which she claimed were taken pursuant to her religious beliefs, violated Ohio law: perceived inconsistency between defendant's religious beliefs and Ohio law was not equivalent to a subjective failure to understand her plea where the record shows that defendant understood that she had violated the law and the consequences thereof. Defendant's no-contest plea was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary where the record shows that the trial court did not find her guilty until defendant acknowledged that she understood the plea.