Opinion
111912
02-02-2024
STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ELLIS JAMES WILSON, Defendant-Appellant.
Michael C. O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Kristen Hatcher, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. Ellis James Wilson, pro se.
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. CR-20-655433-A Application for Reopening Motion No. 570371
Michael C. O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Kristen Hatcher, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.
Ellis James Wilson, pro se.
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
FRANK DANIEL CELEBREZZE, III, PRESIDING JUDGE
{¶1} Applicant, Ellis Wilson ("Wilson"), has filed an application for reopening pursuant to App.R 26(B). Wilson is attempting to reopen the appellate judgment rendered in State v. Wilson, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 111912, 2023-Ohio- 1890, that affirmed the consecutive sentences on his convictions for murder and having a weapon while under disability in State v. Wilson, Cuyahoga C.P. No. CR- 20-655433-A. We decline to reopen Wilson's appeal.
{¶2} App.R. 26(B)(2)(b) requires that Wilson establish "a showing of good cause for untimely filing if the application is filed more than 90 days after journalization of the appellate judgment" that is subject to reopening. The Supreme Court of Ohio, with regard to the 90-day deadline provided by App.R. 26(B)(2)(b), has established that
[w]e now reject [the applicant's] claims that those excuses gave good cause to miss the 90-day deadline in App.R. 26(B). * * * Consistent enforcement of the rule's deadline by the appellate courts in Ohio protects on the one hand the state's legitimate interest in the finality of its judgments and ensures on the other hand that any claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel are promptly examined and resolved.
Ohio and other states "may erect reasonable procedural requirements for triggering the right to an adjudication," Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co. (1982), 455 U.S. 422, 437, 102 S.Ct. 1148, 71 L.Ed.2d 265, and that is what Ohio has done by creating a 90-day deadline for the filing of applications to reopen. * * * The 90-day requirement in the rule is "applicable to all appellants," State v. Winstead (1996), 74 Ohio St.3d 277, 278, 658 N.E.2d 722, and [the applicant] offers no sound reason why he - unlike so many other Ohio criminal defendants -could not comply with that fundamental aspect of the rule.(Emphasis added.) State v. Gumm, 103 Ohio St.3d 162, 2004-Ohio-4755, 814 N.E.2d 861, ¶ 7. See also State v. Lamar, 102 Ohio St.3d 467, 2004-Ohio-3976, 812 N.E.2d 970; State v. Cooey, 73 Ohio St.3d 411, 653 N.E.2d 252 (1995); State v. Reddick, 72 Ohio St.3d 88, 647 N.E.2d 784 (1995).
{¶3} Herein, Wilson is attempting to reopen the appellate judgment journalized on June 8, 2023. The application for reopening was not filed until December 12, 2023, more than 90 days after journalization of the appellate judgment in Wilson, supra. Wilson has failed to specifically argue or demonstrate any viable showing of good cause for the untimely filing of his application for reopening.
{¶4} In addition, the apparent arguments raised by Wilson in the affidavits attached to his application do not establish a valid basis for the untimely filing of his App.R. 26(B) application for reopening. In State v. Lamar, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 49551, 1985 Ohio App. LEXIS 7284 (Oct. 3, 1985), reopening disallowed (Nov. 15, 1995), Motion No. 63398, this court held that lack of communication with appellate counsel did not show good cause. See also State v. Jarrells, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 99329, 2014-Ohio-4564. Similarly, in State v. White, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 57944, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 357 (Jan. 31, 1991), reopening disallowed (Oct. 19, 1994), Motion No. 49174 and State v. Allen, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 65806, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 4956 (Nov. 3, 1994), reopening disallowed (July 8, 1996), Motion No. 67054, this court rejected reliance on counsel as showing good cause. Specifically, in State v. Fortson, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 72229, 1998 Ohio App. LEXIS 6104 (Dec. 17, 1998), reopening disallowed (Jan. 23, 2001), Motion No. 18195, 2001 Ohio App. LEXIS 245, this court ruled that an attorney's delay in notification of an appellate decision does not establish good cause. See also State v. Congress, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 102867, 2018-Ohio-4521; State v. Moss, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga Nos. 62318 and 62322, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 2491 (May 13, 1993), reopening disallowed (Jan. 16, 1997), Motion No. 75838; State v. McClain, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 67785, 1995 Ohio App. LEXIS 3207 (Aug. 3, 1995), reopening disallowed (Apr. 15, 1997), Motion No. 76811; and State v. Russell, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 69311, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 1879 (May 9, 1996), reopening disallowed (June 16, 1997), Motion No. 82351, 1997 Ohio App. LEXIS 2663.
{¶5} Also, this court has consistently held that lack of knowledge or ignorance of the law does not provide sufficient cause for the untimely filing of an application for reopening. State v. Klein, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 58389, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 1346 (Apr. 8, 1991), reopening disallowed (Mar. 15, 1994), Motion No. 49260, affirmed, 69 Ohio St.3d 1481, 634 N.E.2d 1027 (1994); State v. Trammell, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 67834, 1995 Ohio App. LEXIS 2962 (July 24, 1995), reopening disallowed (Apr. 22, 1996), Motion No. 70493; State v. Cummings, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 69966, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 4565 (Oct. 17, 1996), reopening disallowed (Mar. 26, 1998), Motion No. 92134; and State v. Young, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga Nos. 66768 and 66769, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 4634 (Oct. 13, 1994), reopening disallowed (Dec. 5, 1995), Motion No. 66164.
{¶6} Accordingly, we find that Wilson has failed to establish good cause for the untimely filing of his application for reopening.
{¶7} Application denied.
EILEEN A. GALLAGHER, J., and LISA B. FORBES, J., CONCUR.