Plea bargains have been reached in Ohio courts forever. And defendants have not been complaining. What if you were facing a felony of the second degree and the State was willing to let you plead to an amended charge which was a felony of the fifth degree? Would you take the deal? Maybe. There are several factors for you and your lawyer to consider. But in the case of State v. Rohrbaugh, the Third District Court of Appeals took it upon itself to reverse a case where the State amended a charge and allowed the defendant to plead to the amended charge. The Third District pointed out that the Ohio Constitution and Criminal Rule 7 both require an indictment in a felony case. And Rule 7(D) states you cannot amend the crime charged if a change is made to the name or identity of the crime. So when the Third District Court of Appeals saw that the State amended a charge to which the defendant pled - and no waiver of the defendant's right to an indictment was made - there was an "obvious defect" that required reversal. But the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals and held that "a defendant may plead guilty to an indictment that was amended to change the name or identity of the charged crime when the defendant is represented by counsel, has bargained for the amendment, and is not prejudiced by the change." Read the Third District Court of Appeals decision here, or the Ohio Supreme Court decision here.
Plea bargains need no waiver of the right "to be properly indicted"
July 20, 2010
