Ronald Phillips, Jr. v. Mark Houk

SILER, Circuit Judge.

Ronald Phillips, a prisoner in state custody in Ohio, filed a petition for habeas relief asserting, among other things, that his guilty plea in 2006 was not knowing and voluntary. The district court declined to reach the merits of Phillip’s plea-volun-tariness claim, finding it was procedurally defaulted. We REVERSE and REMAND.

I

In 2005, police in Akron, Ohio, arrested Phillips after conducting a controlled drug buy of methamphetamine. In 2006, Phillips pled guilty before the state trial court. He signed a “written plea of guilt,” in which he pled to the following charges:…