OPINIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
The full texts of the opinions of the Supreme Court of
Ohio are being transmitted electronically beginning May 27,
1992, pursuant to a pilot project implemented by Chief Justice
Thomas J. Moyer.
Please call any errors to the attention of the Reporter's
Office of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Attention: Walter S.
Kobalka, Reporter, or Deborah J. Barrett, Administrative
Assistant. Tel.: (614) 466-4961; in Ohio 1-800-826-9010.
Your comments on this pilot project are also welcome.
NOTE: Corrections may be made by the Supreme Court to the
full texts of the opinions after they have been released
electronically to the public. The reader is therefore advised
to check the bound volumes of Ohio St.3d published by West
Publishing Company for the final versions of these opinions.
The advance sheets to Ohio St.3d will also contain the volume
and page numbers where the opinions will be found in the bound
volumes of the Ohio Official Reports.
The State of Ohio, Appellee, v. Spirko, Appellant.
[Cite as State v. Spirko (1994), Ohio St.3d .]
Motion for delayed reconsideration of appeal denied.
(No. 89-722 -- Submitted August 17, 1994 -- Decided
November 9, 1994.)
On Motion for Delayed Reconsideration.
Appellant, John G. Spirko, Jr., was convicted of
aggravated murder and sentenced to death. On direct appeal as
of right, the court of appeals affirmed the conviction and
sentence. State v. Spirko (Mar. 6, 1989), Van Wert App. No.
15-84-22, unreported, 1989 WL 17734. We also affirmed when he
appealed to this court. State v. Spirko (1991),
59 Ohio St.3d
1,
570 N.E.2d 229, certiorari denied (1991), 502 U.S. ,
112
S.Ct. 312,
116 L.Ed.2d 254. Spirko then petitioned the trial
court for postconviction relief under R.C. 2953.21; that
petition was denied, and the court of appeals dismissed his
appeal by entry. State v. Spirko (Apr. 29, 1993), Van Wert
App. No. 15-93-2, unreported, jurisdictional motion overruled
(1993),
67 Ohio St.3d 1479,
620 N.E.2d 852. Next, Spirko filed
a motion for delayed reconsideration of his direct appeal in
the court of appeals, pursuant to App.R.26(B), claiming he had
been denied effective assistance of counsel when that court
first considered his case in 1989. (See State v. Murnahan
[1992],
63 Ohio St.3d 60,
584 N.E.2d 1204.) The court of
appeals denied that motion for reconsideration, State v. Spirko
(Feb. 15, 1994), Van Wert App. No. 15-84-22, unreported, and we
affirmed that judgment, (1994),
69 Ohio St.3d 1448,
633 N.E.2d
542. Spirko now claims that he lacked effective assistance of
counsel in his 1991 direct appeal to this court, and therefore
asks us to reconsider his direct appeal under S.Ct.Prac.R.
XI(1)(B).
David H. Bodiker, Ohio Public Defender, and Laurence E.
Komp, Assistant Public Defender for appellant.
Per Curiam. We deny the motion. Spirko's 1991 appeal to
this court was not a first appeal as of right; therefore, he
had no constitutional right to counsel, hence no constitutional
right to effective assistance. See State v. Buell (1994), 70
Ohio St.3d 1211,
639 N.E.2d 110.
Motion denied.
Moyer, C.J., A.W. Sweeney, Douglas, Resnick, F.E. Sweeney
and Pfeifer, JJ., concur.
Wright, J., dissents.
