Smith v. Walker, 98-1036
| Decision Date | 28 October 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-1036,98-1036 |
| Citation | 700 N.E.2d 592,83 Ohio St.3d 431 |
| Parties | SMITH, Appellant, v. WALKER, Warden, Appellee. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
In 1994, the Summit County Court of Common Pleas convicted appellant, Paul Douglas Smith, of endangering children and assault, and sentenced him to prison. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. State v. Smith (July 5, 1995), Summit App. No. 16910, unreported, 1995 WL 411401. The common pleas court later denied Smith's petition for postconviction relief. Smith also filed a petition in this court for a writ of habeas corpus, which we dismissed. Smith v. Walker (1997), 79 Ohio St.3d 1503, 684 N.E.2d 88.
In 1998, Smith filed a petition in the Court of Appeals for Pickaway County for a writ of habeas corpus to compel appellee, Pickaway Correctional Institution Warden Diane Walker, to immediately release him from prison. Smith claimed that his trial court improperly sentenced him for a second-degree felony even though the jury found him guilty of a third-degree felony. Shortly thereafter, the court of appeals dismissed Smith's petition because he had failed to comply with the requirements of R.C. 2969.25(A) and (C).
This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right.
Paul Douglas Smith, pro se.
Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, and Karen L. Killian, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Smith asserts in his sole proposition of law that the court of appeals erred in dismissing his petition based on the in forma pauperis requirements set forth in R.C. 2969.25 for inmates filing civil actions against a government entity or employee. Smith's assertion lacks merit because even if the court of appeals' rationale was incorrect, dismissal was warranted for the following reasons. See State ex rel. The V Cos. v. Marshall (1998), 81 Ohio St.3d 467, 474, 692 N.E.2d 198, 204, fn. 1.
First, Smith had adequate remedies at law by appeal or postconviction relief to review the alleged sentencing error. State ex rel. Massie v. Rogers (1997), 77 Ohio St.3d 449, 450, 674 N.E.2d 1383. Sentencing errors are not jurisdictional. Majoros v. Collins (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 442, 443, 596 N.E.2d 1038, 1039.
Second, res judicata precluded Childers from filing successive habeas corpus petitions. State ex rel. Brantley v. Ghee (1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 287, 288, 685 N.E.2d 1243, 1244.
Based on the foregoing, the court of appeals properly dismissed Smith's petition. By so holding, as we have held in comparable cases, we need not address the issue of whether R.C. 2969.25 applies to habeas corpus actions. Cf. State ex rel. Crigger v. Ohio Adult...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Watkins v. Collins
...corpus." Majoros v. Collins (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 442, 443, 596 N.E.2d 1038, and cases cited therein; see, also, Smith v. Walker (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 431, 432, 700 N.E.2d 592. {¶ 41} With these guides in mind, we next consider the petitioners' habeas claim, which challenges the authority o......
-
Bowen v. Sheldon
...ordinary course of law, e.g., appeal and postconviction relief, for review of any alleged sentencing error. See Smith v. Walker (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 431, 432, 700 N.E.2d 592; Childers v. Wingard (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 427, 428, 700 N.E.2d 588.” {¶ 11} Bowen had, and continues to have, an ad......
-
State ex rel. Childs v. Lazaroff, 00-1520.
...applied res judicata to bar petitioners from filing successive habeas corpus petitions. See, e.g., Smith v. Walker (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 431, 432, 700 N.E.2d 592, 593; State ex rel. Cotton v. Ghee (1998), 82 Ohio St.3d 404, 696 N.E.2d 580, 581; State ex rel. Brantley v. Ghee (1997), 80 Ohio......
-
State ex rel. Jaffal v. Calabrese
... ... Collins (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 442, 443, 596 N.E.2d 1038 (habeas corpus); Smith v. Warren (2000), 89 Ohio St.3d 467, 468, 732 N.E.2d 992 (prohibition); State ex rel. Corrigan v ... See Smith v. Walker (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 431, 432, 700 N.E.2d ... 592; Childers v. Wingard (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 427, ... ...