Opinion
No. 95732
07-31-2013
STATE OF OHIO PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE v. CORTEZ WILLIAMSON DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
FOR APPELLANT Cortez Williamson, pro se Trumbull Correctional Institution ATTORNEY OR APPELLEE Timothy McGinty Cuyahoga County Prosecutor By: Blaise D. Thomas Assistant County Prosecutors
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
JUDGMENT:
APPLICATION DENIED
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Case No. CR-534287
Application for Reopening
Motion No. 466506
FOR APPELLANT
Cortez Williamson, pro se
Trumbull Correctional Institution
ATTORNEY OR APPELLEE
Timothy McGinty
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
By: Blaise D. Thomas
Assistant County Prosecutors
PATRICIA ANN BLACKMON, J.:
{¶1} Cortez Williamson has filed an application for reopening pursuant to App.R. 26(B). Williamson is attempting to reopen the appellate judgment, as rendered in State v. Williamson, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 95732, 2011-Ohio-4095, which affirmed his conviction for the offenses of murder, discharging a firearm near a prohibited premises, tampering with evidence, and carrying a concealed weapon. We decline to reopen Williamson's appeal.
{¶2} App.R. 26(B)(2)(b) requires that Williamson establish a showing of good cause for untimely filing if the application is filed more than ninety days after journalization of the appellate judgment, which is subject to reopening. The Supreme Court of Ohio, with regard to the 90-day deadline as provided by App.R. 26(B)(2)(b), has recently established that:
We 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, at ¶ 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, 1995-Ohio-328, 653 N.E.2d 252; State v. Reddick, 72 Ohio St.3d 88, 1995-Ohio-248, 647 N.E.2d 784.
{¶3} 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, 1995-Ohio-328, 653 N.E.2d 252; State v. Reddick, 72 Ohio St.3d 88, 1995-Ohio-249, 647 N.E.2d 784.
{¶4} Herein, Williamson is attempting to reopen the appellate judgment that was journalized on August 18, 2011. The application for reopening was not filed until July 10, 2013, more than 90 days after journalization of the appellate judgment in State v. Williamson, supra. Williamson has failed to establish "a showing of good cause" for the untimely filing of his application for reopening. State v. Klein, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 58389, Ohio App. LEXIS 1346 (Apr. 8, 1991), reopening disallowed (Mar. 15, 1994), Motion No. 49260, aff'd, 69 Ohio St.3d 1481, 634 N.E.2d 1027 (1994); State v. Trammell, 8th Dist. No. 67834, 1995 Ohio App. LEXIS 2962 (July 24, 1995), reopening disallowed (Apr. 22, 1996), Motion No. 70493; State v. Travis, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 56825, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 1356 (Apr. 5, 1990), reopening disallowed (Nov. 2, 1994), Motion No. 51073, aff'd, 72 Ohio St.3d 317, 1995-Ohio-152, 649 N.E.2d 1226. See also State v. Gaston, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 79626, 2007-Ohio-155; State v. Torres, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 86530, 2007-Ohio-9.
{¶5} Accordingly, the application for reopening is denied. PATRICIA ANN BLACKMON, JUDGE MARY EILEEN KILBANE, P.J., and
EILEEN T. GALLAGHER, J., CONCUR