State v. Dillard

Summary

The Ohio Second District Court of Appeals affirmed Daryl Anderson Dillard’s convictions and sentence following his guilty pleas to aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, vandalism, and OVI. The court rejected his ineffective-assistance claim based on counsel’s alleged failure to advise him to plead no contest, concluding that the record did not establish the State would have accepted such pleas on the same terms or what advice counsel provided.

Holdings

1. An ineffective-assistance claim based on counsel permitting a defendant to plead guilty instead of no contest fails where the defendant does not establish that the State would have accepted no-contest pleas on the same terms as the guilty-plea agreement.
2. Alleged off-the-record advice or conversations between counsel and the defendant cannot support an ineffective-assistance claim on direct appeal when the record does not reveal what counsel advised; such allegations are properly pursued through post-conviction relief.

Questions Presented

1. Whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by permitting Dillard to plead guilty rather than no contest, allegedly waiving his ability to appeal the denial of his suppression motion.
2. Whether an ineffective-assistance claim may succeed on direct appeal when the record does not show what advice counsel gave regarding guilty versus no-contest pleas.

Disposition

affirmed