2000 OHIO 281 - State v. O'Neal

[This opinion has been published in Ohio Official Reports at

88 Ohio St.3d 179

.]




             THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLEE, v. O’NEAL, APPELLANT.
                      [Cite as State v. O’Neal,

2000-Ohio-281

.]
Appellate procedure—Application for reopening appeal from judgment and
        conviction based on claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel—
        Application denied when applicant fails to demonstrate that appellate
        counsel performed in a deficient manner or that any alleged deficiency
        prejudiced the outcome of the appeal.
      (No. 98-1735—Submitted January 11, 2000—Decided March 8, 2000.)
     APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Hamilton County, No. C-960392.
                                  __________________
        {¶ 1} Appellant, James Derrick O’Neal, was convicted of aggravated
burglary and the aggravated murder of his wife, Carol O’Neal, and sentenced to
death. The court of appeals affirmed the convictions and sentence. State v. O’Neal
(Dec. 12, 1997), Hamilton App. No. C-960392, unreported,

1997 WL 770162

. On
direct appeal as of right, we also affirmed O’Neal’s convictions for aggravated
murder and aggravated burglary, and we affirmed the death penalty. State v.
O’Neal (2000),

87 Ohio St.3d 402

721 N.E.2d 73

.
        {¶ 2} Following the court of appeals’ decision in December 1997, O’Neal
filed a timely application for reopening with the court of appeals pursuant to App.R.
26(B) and State v. Murnahan (1992),

63 Ohio St.3d 60

584 N.E.2d 1204

, alleging
ineffective assistance of appellate counsel before that court. The court of appeals
concluded that O’Neal failed to demonstrate “that appellate counsel performed in a
deficient manner … or that any alleged deficiency prejudiced the outcome of the
appeal.” O’Neal now appeals that decision to this court.
                                  __________________
                              SUPREME COURT OF OHIO




       Michael K. Allen, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and William E.
Breyer, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.
       John J. Gideon, for appellant.
                               __________________
       Per Curiam.
       {¶ 3} We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals for the reasons set
forth in its entry dated July 9, 1998.
                                                            Judgment affirmed.
       MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK and
LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., concur.
                               __________________




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