--- Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 03:04:42 -0400 To: declanat_private, politechat_private From: "Robert L. Ellis" <rellis@internet-attorneys.com> Subject: Ohio conviction for fictional journal overturned Previous: : http://www.politechbot.com/p-02223.html http://www.politechbot.com/p-02326.html http://www.politechbot.com/p-02468.html http://www.politechbot.com/p-02223.html Declan: On Thursday, the 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals here in Columbus threw out the guilty plea of Brian Dalton, who had been imprisoned a second time for "pandering obscenity involving a minor." Dalton's first conviction was not a source of controversy: He had pleaded guilty to five counts of "pandering obscenity to a minor" and five counts of the slightly different "pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor." After serving about four months of his 18-month prison sentence, Dalton was released on probation. He was arrested for violating his probation by not showing up for his sex offender treatment program. The controversy arose after Dalton was back in custody for probation violation. A probation officer (acting on a tip from Dalton's mother) went to Dalton's home and found a 14-page handwritten journal involving fictitious accounts of child molestation and torture. Dalton was charged yet again with "pandering obscenity involving a minor" based on his journal writings. Dalton pleaded guilty, but after realizing that this time he was being convicted on the basis of a fictitious private journal, he tried to withdraw the plea to challenge the constitutionality of his conviction. The trial judge refused to allow him to do so. ACLU attorneys intervened and asked the court to reconsider, which the court also refused to do. The ACLU then helped Dalton appeal. Although the ACLU had argued for dismissal primarily on First Amendment grounds and secondarily on procedural grounds, the appeals court based its decision solely on procedural grounds, namely that Dalton's guilty plea was invalid due to ineffective assistance of counsel. http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/documents/10/2003/2003-ohio-3813.doc - Bob Ellis ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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