State v. Wright

[Cite as State v. Wright, 2020-Ohio-214.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
STATE OF OHIO :
:
Plaintiff-Appellee : Appellate Case Nos. 28469
: 28470
v. : 28471
:
JAMES E. WRIGHT : Trial Court Case Nos. 2018-CR-4706
: 2019-CR-1195
Defendant-Appellant : 2019-CR-837
:
(Criminal Appeal from
Common Pleas Court)
...........
OPINION
Rendered on the 24th day of January, 2020.
...........
MATHIAS H. HECK, JR., by ANDREW T. FRENCH, Atty. Reg. No. 0069384, Assistant
Prosecuting Attorney, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, Appellate Division,
Montgomery County Courts Building, 301 West Third Street, 5th Floor, Dayton, Ohio
45422
Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee
CARL BRYAN, Atty. Reg. No. 0086838, 120 West Second Street, Suite 603, Dayton,
Ohio 45402
Attorney for Defendant-Appellant
.............
DONOVAN, J.
{¶ 1} James Wright was convicted on his guilty pleas in three cases in the
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Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas on June 26, 2019. In Case No. 2018 CR
4706, he was convicted on one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of a
police officer, in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B) and (C)(5), a felony of the third degree; in
Case No. 2019 CR 1195, he was convicted on one count of receiving stolen property, in
violation of R.C. 2913.51(A), a felony of the fourth degree; and in Case No. 2019 CR
0837, he was convicted on one count of assault, in violation of R.C. 2903.13(A) (peace
officer), a felony of the fourth degree. The trial court sentenced Wright to 30 months for
failure to comply and to 18 months each for receiving stolen property and assault; the
court ordered that the 30-month sentence run consecutively to the other sentences, which
ran concurrently to each other, for an aggregate sentence of 48 months. Wright
stipulated to restitution in the amount of $1,168.56 to the victim, U-Haul, in Case No. 2019
CR 1195.
{¶ 2} Wright’s appellate counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 (1967), asserting that there are no
meritorious issues for appeal. Specifically, counsel asserts that he has considered the
following issues: “1) the trial court’s advisements [at the plea hearing], 2) the recitation of
the facts upon which the State would have relied * * * to obtain a conviction, 3) the trial
court’s imposition of sentences aggregating to the maximum of the stipulated range, and
[4]) the trial court’s advisement with respect to post-release control. Appellant counsel
concludes that none of these issues might arguably support an appeal.”
{¶ 3} This Court gave Wright 60 days to file a pro se brief assigning any errors for
our review. None has been received.
{¶ 4} As this Court has previously noted:
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An appellate court, upon the filing of an Anders brief, has a duty to
determine, “after a full examination of the proceedings,” whether the appeal
is, in fact, “wholly frivolous.” Anders, 386 U.S. at 744, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 18
L. Ed. 2d 493; Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80, 109 S. Ct. 346, 102 L. Ed. 2d
300 (1988). An issue is not frivolous based upon a conclusion that the
State has a strong responsive argument. State v. Pullen, 2d Dist.
Montgomery No. 19232, 2002-Ohio-6788, ¶ 4. A frivolous issue, instead,
is one about which, “on the facts and law involved, no responsible
contention can be made that offers a basis for reversal.” State v. Marbury,
2d Dist. Montgomery No. 19226, 2003-Ohio-3242, ¶ 8. If we find that any
issue is not wholly frivolous, we must reject the Anders brief and appoint
new counsel to represent the defendant.
State v. Allen, 2d Dist. Clark No. 2018-CA-60, 2019-Ohio-1253, ¶ 5.
{¶ 5} We have thoroughly reviewed the entire record, including the plea and
sentencing transcripts, the plea forms, and the presentence investigation report. This
review has not revealed any potentially meritorious appellate issues, including those
raised by appellate counsel. Having fulfilled our duty pursuant to Anders, Wright’s
conviction is affirmed.
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HALL, J. and TUCKER, J., concur.
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Copies sent to:
Mathias H. Heck, Jr.
Andrew T. French
Carl Bryan
James E. Wright
Hon. Mary Katherine Huffman