State v. Gaddy , 2021 Ohio 637 ( 2021 )

[Cite as State v. Gaddy, 2021-Ohio-637.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
ALLEN COUNTY
STATE OF OHIO,
CASE NO. 1-20-41
PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
GREGORY T. GADDY, JR., OPINION
DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Appeal from Allen County Common Pleas Court
Trial Court No. CR 2008 0056
Judgment Affirmed
Date of Decision: March 8, 2021
APPEARANCES:
Eric J. Allen for Appellant
Jana E. Emerick for Appellee
Case No. 1-20-41
WILLAMOWSKI, P.J.
{¶1} Defendant-appellant Gregory T. Gaddy, Jr. (“Gaddy”) brings this
appeal from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Allen County denying
his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, Gaddy alleges that the trial court
erred by denying the petition without holding an evidentiary hearing and by failing
to prepare and file findings of fact and conclusions of law. For the reasons set forth
below, the judgment is affirmed.
{¶2} On February 14, 2008, the Allen County Grand Jury indicted Gaddy on
one count of Aggravated Burglary with a firearm specification in violation of R.C.
2911.11(A)(2), a felony of the first degree, and one count of Aggravated Robbery
with a firearm specification in violation of R.C. 2911.01(A)(1), a felony of the first
degree. Doc. 1. A warrant to arrest was issued soon after. Doc. 5. However, due
to Gaddy’s absence from the jurisdiction, he was not arrested until October 16,
2018. Doc. 7. On March 5, 2019, Gaddy filed a pro se motion requesting new
counsel claiming that his counsel was ineffective. Doc. 39. A hearing was held on
the motion. Doc. 64. Upon being questioned by the trial court, Gaddy informed the
trial court that he had changed his mind and wished to withdraw his motion. Id.{¶3} On April 3, 2019, Gaddy entered into a negotiated plea of guilty where
he agreed to enter pleas of guilty to the offenses and the State conceded that merger
applied to the two counts. Doc. 80. The trial court accepted the pleas of guilty and
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set the matter for sentencing. Doc. 81. On May 6, 2019, prior to sentencing, Gaddy
filed a pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea due to claimed ineffective
assistance of counsel. Doc. 90. New counsel was appointed for Gaddy and a
hearing was held on the motion. Doc. 98. On May 22, 2019, the trial court overruled
the motion to withdraw the guilty plea. Id. A sentencing hearing was held on May
28, 2019. Doc. 101. The trial court found that the counts merged and the State
elected to proceed on Count 1. Id. The trial court then ordered Gaddy to serve an
aggregate prison term of 13 years and also ordered that the sentence be served
consecutive to the sentences imposed in two other cases. Id. Gaddy filed a notice
of appeal from both the judgment entry of sentence and the denial of the motion to
withdraw the guilty plea due to ineffective assistance of counsel. Doc. 104. New
counsel for the purpose of appeal was appointed by the trial court. Doc. 108.
{¶4} On the direct appeal, Gaddy alleged that the trial court erred in denying
his motion to withdraw his guilty plea because he was denied the effective assistance
of counsel. State v. Gaddy, 3d Dist. Allen Nos. 1-19-35, 1-19-36, 2020-Ohio-430.
Gaddy alleged that counsel was ineffective by 1) failing to collect hospital records,
and by 2) failing to share discovery. Id. at ¶ 22-24. After reviewing the record, this
Court determine that counsel was not ineffective. Id. at ¶ 25.
{¶5} On July 30, 2020, Gaddy filed a petition to set aside or vacate a
conviction alleging that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Doc. 124.
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Gaddy alleged that counsel 1) failed to communicate with him before he entered his
plea of guilty, 2) failed to share discovery, 3) failed to adequately prepare for trial,
and 4) failed to adequately cross-examine the state’s key witness. Id. The trial court
overruled the petition on the grounds of res judicata on August 17, 2020. Doc. 125.
Gaddy filed a timely notice of appeal. Doc. 127. On appeal, Gaddy raises the
following assignments of error.
First Assignment of Error
The trial court abused its discretion in overruling [Gaddy’s]
petition for post-conviction relief.
Second Assignment of Error
The trial court erred in not holding an evidentiary hearing.
Third Assignment of Error
The trial court failed to prepare and file findings of fact and
conclusions of law as required by R.C. 2953.21.
As all of these assignment of errors address the denial of a petition for post-
conviction relief, we will address them together.
{¶6} A petition for post-conviction relief is governed by R.C. 2953.21. Any
person convicted of a criminal offense who claims that there was a denial or
infringement on his rights to such a degree as to render the judgment void or
voidable may file a petition for post-conviction relief. R.C. 2953.21(A)(1)(a)(i).
This petition must be filed within 365 days after the date on which the trial transcript
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is filed in the court of appeals in the direct appeal of the judgment of conviction.
R.C. 2953.21(A)(2)(a). The petition must state in the petition all grounds for relief
claimed and any non-stated grounds are waived. R.C. 2953(A)(4).
(D) * * * Before granting a hearing on a petition filed under
division (A)(1)(a)(i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this section the court shall
determine whether there are substantive grounds for relief. In
making such a determination, the court shall consider, in addition
to the petition, the supporting affidavits, and the documentary
evidence, all the files and records pertaining to the proceedings
against the petitioner, including, but not limited to, the
indictment, the court’s journal entries, the journalized records of
the clerk of the court, and the court reporter’s transcript. * * * If
the court dismisses the petition, it shall make and file findings of
fact and conclusions of law with respect to such dismissal. * * *
***
(F) Unless the petition and the files and records of the case show
the petitioner is not entitled to relief, the court shall proceed to a
prompt hearing on the issues even if a direct appeal of the case is
pending. * * *
***
(H) If the court does not find grounds for granting relief, it shall
make and file findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall
enter judgment denying relief on the petition.
R.C. 2953.21.
{¶7} Here, Gaddy claims that the trial court erred by denying his petition for
post-conviction relief without a hearing and without issuing statements of fact and
conclusions of law. When reviewing the determination of a trial court in reviewing
a petition for post-conviction relief, the standard of review to be used is whether the
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trial court abused its discretion. State v. Gondor, 112 Ohio St.3d 377, 2006-Ohio-
6679, 860 N.E.2d 77. “An abuse of discretion is more than an error of judgment;
rather it implies that the trial court’s decision was unreasonable, arbitrary, or
capricious.” State v. Thompson, 3d Dist. Henry No. 7-16-10, 2017-Ohio-792, 85
N.E.3d 1108, ¶ 11. When conducting the review, the appellate court may not replace
the judgment of the trial court with that of its own merely because of a disagreement
as to what the outcome should have been. Id.{¶8} Gaddy claims in his petition that he was denied the effective assistance
of counsel before he entered his guilty pleas and thus he should be allowed to
withdraw his guilty pleas. However, a review of the record shows that Gaddy raised
the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel before the trial court and was given a
full hearing on it. In his direct appeal, Gaddy challenged the trial court’s denial of
his motion to withdraw his guilty plea due to ineffective assistance of counsel and
his request for new counsel. The issues raised in this appeal are very similar to those
raised on direct appeal. This Court has already determined that Gaddy was not
denied the effective assistance of counsel.
Gaddy also claimed that his trial counsel failed to share discovery
with him—specifically that the State had a 9-1-1 call from the
victim and DNA testing results from the crime scene. Gaddy
argued that his lack of familiarity with the prosecution's evidence
coupled with his dissatisfaction with his trial counsel's cross-
examination of one of the victims led him to conclude that he had
no choice but to plead guilty to the aggravated burglary and
aggravated robbery charges and firearm specifications after the
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first day of trial rather than allowing the case to be decided by a
jury. Gaddy stated his pleas were tendered out of “pure emotion”
to avoid a longer prison term. (Id. at 9).
However, on cross-examination, Gaddy admitted that trial
counsel shared the DNA results and other discovery evidence with
him prior to trial. Gaddy nevertheless continued to express
dissatisfaction with the chosen trial strategy and tactics of trial
counsel. Notably, the transcript from the first day and a half of
trial fails to substantiate Gaddy's claims that his trial counsel's
performance was deficient. Moreover, the record indicates that
once Gaddy stated his desire to enter into a plea agreement, trial
counsel competently negotiated for a plea deal that involved the
State conceding to a merger of the offenses, which reduced
Gaddy's maximum prison time exposure by half.
As a result, we find that Gaddy has failed to establish that trial
counsel performed deficiently while representing him in this
matter and thus has failed to substantiate his ineffective assistance
of counsel claim.
Gaddy, supra at ¶ 23-25.
{¶9} Pursuant to the doctrine of res judicata, a convicted defendant who was
represented by counsel may not raise in any proceeding, except a direct appeal, any
defense or any claimed lack of due process that was raised or could have been raised
by the defendant at trial. State v. Reynolds, 3d Dist. Putnam No. 12-01-11, 2002-
Ohio-2823, ¶ 14. “Furthermore, a defendant’s failure to appeal a judgment of
conviction bars as res judicata any subsequent attempt to litigate issues that could
have been raised on direct appeal.” Id. “More simply put, claims that were or could
have been raised at trial or on direct appeal are not permitted in a post-
conviction review.” Id. at ¶ 15. Here, Gaddy is arguing in his petition the same
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issues that he argued on direct appeal. As this court has already overruled those
objections, the doctrine of res judicata prevents them from being relitigated. Thus,
there were not substantive grounds for granting the petition, so the trial court did
not err in denying it. The first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶10} Gaddy also argues that the trial court should have held an evidentiary
hearing before denying his petition. A trial court may dismiss a petition for post-
conviction relief without a hearing where the doctrine of res judicata bars the
consideration of the claims made in the petition. Sate v. Lawson, 103 Ohio App.3d
307, 313, 659 N.E.2d 362 (12th Dist. 1995). The language in R.C. 2953.21 provides
that an evidentiary hearing is only necessary if there are substantive claims to be
reviewed. As the trial court correctly determined that res judicata barred
consideration of Gaddy’s substantive claims, the trial court was authorized by
statute to rule without holding an evidentiary hearing. The second assignment of
error is thus overruled.
{¶11} Finally, Gaddy claims that the trial court erred by not making findings
of fact and conclusions of law. This court agrees that the statute requires the trial
court to do so. This court also acknowledges that the trial court did not specifically
file a document labelled findings of fact and conclusions of law. However, there is
no requirement in the statute that the document be so labelled. A review of the
record shows that the trial court’s judgment entry denying the petition fully set forth
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the facts, the law, and appropriately applied the law to the facts. Thus, the trial court
did, in effect, file findings of fact and conclusions of law. The third assignment of
error is overruled.
{¶12} Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant, the judgment of the
Court of Common Pleas of Allen County is affirmed.
Judgment Affirmed
ZIMMERMAN and MILLER, J.J., concur.
/hls
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