Summary
The Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The appellate court found no abuse of discretion, concluding that the defendant failed to establish a manifest injustice or ineffective assistance of counsel because he did not demonstrate prejudice by showing he would have proceeded to trial had he received proper advice regarding immigration consequences. The court also held that a hearing was not required to deny the post-sentence motion.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court abused its discretion in finding no manifest injustice existed to justify withdrawal of the guilty plea.
- Whether the trial court abused its discretion in finding no ineffective assistance of counsel as a basis for manifest injustice.
- Whether the trial court was required to hold a hearing on the post‑sentence motion to withdraw the guilty plea.
Holdings
- The trial court did not abuse its discretion; the statutory advisement satisfied the requirement and no manifest injustice was shown.
- The trial court did not abuse its discretion; Cardona failed to demonstrate prejudice and therefore did not meet the Strickland standard.
- The trial court was not required to hold a hearing because Cardona did not allege facts that, if true, would require withdrawal.
Key quotations
“If you are not a citizen of the United States, you are hereby advised that conviction of the offense to which you are pleading guilty * * * may have the consequences of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States.” (¶ 12)
“[a] hearing must only be held if the facts alleged by the defendant, accepted as true, would require that the defendant be allowed to withdraw the plea.” (¶ 22)
Factual background
The State indicted Cardona for workers’ compensation fraud and theft. Cardona pleaded guilty to a lesser felony in September 2015 after the trial court gave the statutory immigration warning required by R.C. 2943.031(A). He was sentenced to four years of community control and restitution. In January 2024 Cardona moved to withdraw his plea, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel and a manifest injustice because of potential deportation, but the trial court denied the motion without a hearing.
Procedural history
Cardona was indicted on workers’ compensation fraud and theft, entered a guilty plea to a lesser offense in 2015, received statutory advisement on immigration consequences, was sentenced to community control, and in 2024 filed a motion to withdraw the plea alleging ineffective assistance and manifest injustice. The trial court denied the motion without a hearing.