Case Title: State v. Howe

Citation: 1996-Ohio-55

Docket Number: 19960468

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 1996-08-21T00:00:00Z

Document:
The State of Ohio, Appellee, v. Howe, Appellant. 
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[Cite as State v. Howe (1996), _____ Ohio St.3d _____.] 
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Appellate procedure -- Application for reopening appeal from 
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judgment and conviction based on claim of ineffective 
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assistance of appellate counsel --  Application denied when no 
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genuine issue is raised as to whether applicant was denied 
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the effective assistance of appellate counsel -- Petition for 
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postconviction relief -- Allegation that co-defendants were 
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coerced into falsely implicating petitioner in crimes for which 
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he was convicted -- Petition denied when allegations of 
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coerced testimony were satisfactorily rebutted by trial record. 
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(Nos. 96-468 and 96-676--Submitted May 21, 1996--Decided August 
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21, 1996.) 
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APPEALS from the Court of Appeals for Montgomery County, Nos. 
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13969 and 15139. 
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In March 1993, appellant Weston Howe, Jr., was convicted of 
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aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and having a 
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weapon under disability, and was sentenced to prison.  Upon appeal, the 
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convictions were affirmed.  State v. Howe (Sept. 30, 1994), Montgomery 
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App. No. 13969, unreported. 
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2
 
In case No. 96-468, on December 21, 1994, appellant filed an 
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application to reopen his appeal pursuant to App.R. 26(B), alleging 
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ineffective assistance of appellate counsel.  However, the court of appeals 
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was unable to rule on the application because pending appeals before this 
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court divested it of its jurisdiction under S.Ct.Prac.R. II (2)(D)(1).  See State 
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v. Howe (1995), 73 Ohio St.3d 35, 652 N.E.2d 193.  Eventually, the court of 
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appeals obtained jurisdiction to rule on appellant’s App.R. 26(B) 
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application.  On January 24, 1996, the court of appeals denied the 
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application, finding no genuine issue as to whether appellant was denied the 
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effective assistance of appellate counsel.  Appellant appeals that denial to 
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this court. 
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With respect to case No. 96-676, on July 8, 1994, appellant filed a 
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petition for postconviction relief before the court of common pleas.  The 
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petition was supported by an affidavit from a co-defendant, alleging that 
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appellant’s co-defendants were coerced into falsely implicating appellant in 
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the crimes for which he was convicted.  After reviewing the record of the 
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criminal proceeding involving appellant and his co-defendants, the trial 
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court dismissed the postconviction relief petition without a hearing. 
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Upon appeal, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal 
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of postconviction relief in case No. 96-676 in the same opinion in which it 
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rejected appellant’s application to reopen in case No. 96-468.  The court of 
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appeals found the co-defendant’s allegations of coerced testimony were 
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satisfactorily rebutted by the trial record.  See State v. Brooks (Mar. 10, 
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1994), Cuyahoga App. No. 65088, unreported (appeal dismissed [1994], 70 
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Ohio St.3d 1425, 638 N.E.2d 87).  This appeal followed. 
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Mathias H. Heck, Jr., Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney, and 
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George A. Katchmer, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. 
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Weston L. Howe, Jr., pro se. 
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Per Curiam.  We affirm the judgments of the court of appeals for the 
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reasons stated in its opinion. 
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Judgments affirmed. 
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MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK 
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and STRATTON, JJ., concur. 
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