State ex rel. Stovall v. Jones, 00-2008.

Decision Date16 May 2001
Docket NumberNo. 00-2008.,00-2008.
Citation91 Ohio St.3d 403,746 NE 2d 601
PartiesTHE STATE EX REL. STOVALL, APPELLANT, v. JONES, JUDGE, APPELLEE.
CourtOhio Supreme Court

A.J. Stovall, pro se.

William Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Renee L. Snow, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

Per Curiam.

In July 2000, appellant, A.J. Stovall, filed a complaint in the Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County for a writ of mandamus to compel appellee, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peggy Foley Jones, to vacate Stovall's 1994 criminal conviction and sentence, which she allegedly used to enhance Stovall's 1997 criminal conviction and sentence. Stovall claimed that Judge Jones patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to try and convict him in the 1994 case without a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary guilty plea, and without a signed jury waiver pursuant to R.C. 2945.05. Judge Jones filed a motion for summary judgment. In October 2000, the court of appeals denied the writ.

This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right.

Stovall asserts that the court of appeals erred in denying the writ. For the following reasons, Stovall's assertions lack merit.

Stovall had adequate legal remedies, e.g., a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and an appeal to raise his claim that he did not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily plead guilty in 1994. See, e.g., State ex rel. Tran v. McGrath (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 45, 47, 676 N.E.2d 108, 109; State ex rel. Seikbert v. Wilkinson (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 489, 491, 633 N.E.2d 1128, 1130; Crim.R. 32.1.

Further, a claimed violation of the jury-trial waiver requirements of R.C. 2945.05 may be remedied only in a direct appeal from a criminal conviction. Bradford v. Moore (2000), 90 Ohio St.3d 75, 734 N.E.2d 828, 829; State v. Pless (1996), 74 Ohio St.3d 333, 658 N.E.2d 766, paragraph two of the syllabus.

Based on the foregoing, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.1

Judgment affirmed.

MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK and LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., concur.

1 The court of appeals reasoned that denial was warranted because Stovall was using mandamus to effect his release from prison, and habeas corpus was thus the appropriate remedy. See State ex rel. Carter v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. (2000), 89 Ohio St.3d 496, 733 N.E.2d 609. It is unclear, however, from the face of the petition if Stovall in fact requested his release from prison. Instead, it appears that he sought vacation of only his 1994 conviction...

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7 cases
  • Post v. Coyle, CASE NO. 1:97 CV 1640 (N.D. Ohio 8/25/2003)
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio
    • August 25, 2003
    ...WL 741528, * 2 (Ohio App. 7 Dist.) (reiterating Pless holding that a jury waiver claim must be brought on direct appeal); State v. Jones, 91 Ohio St.3d 403, 404 (2001) (holding that "a claimed violation of the jury-trial waiver requirements of R.C. 2945.05 may be remedied only in a direct a......
  • State ex rel. Waver v. Gallagher, 2004 Ohio 4355 (OH 8/18/2004)
    • United States
    • Ohio Supreme Court
    • August 18, 2004
    ...2004-Ohio-2139, 807 N.E.2d 346; State ex rel. Rash v. Jackson, 102 Ohio St.3d 145, 2004-Ohio-2053, 807 N.E.2d 344; State ex rel. Stovall v. Jones, 91 Ohio St.3d 403, 2001-Ohio-80, 746 N.E.2d 601; Bradford v. Moore, 90 Ohio St.3d 75, 2000-Ohio-25, 734 N.E.2d 828; and State ex rel. Earl v. Mi......
  • State v. Bush
    • United States
    • Ohio Supreme Court
    • August 28, 2002
    ...motion to withdraw a guilty plea as a distinct avenue for relief following our decision in Reynolds. See State ex rel. Stovall v. Jones (2001), 91 Ohio St.3d 403, 404, 746 N.E.2d 601 (unanimous court describing a postsentence Crim.R. 32.1 motion as an "adequate legal remed[y]"); State ex re......
  • State v. Godfrey, 2009 Ohio 1480 (Ohio App. 3/30/2009)
    • United States
    • Ohio Court of Appeals
    • March 30, 2009
    ...a distinct avenue for relief following our decision in Reynolds [State v. (1997), 79 Ohio St.3d 158]. See State ex rel. Stovall v. Jones (2001), 91 Ohio St.3d 403, 404, 746 N.E.2d 601 (unanimous court describing a postsentence Crim.R. 32.1 motion as an `adequate legal remed[y]'); State ex r......
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