Volume 159 — Ohio State Reports, Third Series

Appeal dismissed as having been improvidently accepted.

Mandamus—Relator has shown clear legal right to purchase copy of transcript of his sentencing hearing, corresponding clear legal duty of county court reporter to inform him of transcript fee, and lack of an adequate remedy at law—Writ ordering county court reporter's office to inform relator of transcript fee granted.

Habeas corpus—R.C. 2725.04(D)—Failure to attach commitment papers to petition—Challenge to admissibility of evidence not cognizable in habeas corpus—Habeas corpus not available to challenge sufficiency of the evidence—Court of appeals' dismissal of petition affirmed.

Habeas corpus—R.C. 2969.25(A)—Inmate's failure to file affidavit containing description of each civil action or appeal of a civil action filed against government in previous five years in any state or federal court—Court of appeals' dismissal of petition affirmed.

Attorneys—Character and fitness—Application to register as candidate for admission to practice of law—Cheating on bar exam—Failure to disclose past criminal conduct—Applicant permanently barred from reapplying for admission to practice of law.

Court of appeals' judgment reversed on the authority of State v. Davis and cause remanded.

Public utilities—Electric-security plan—Public Utilities Commission had subject-matter jurisdiction to approve power-purchase-agreement rider—Public Utilities Commission's approval of smart-city rider upheld because R.C. 4928.143(B)(2)(H) permits an electric-security plan to include certain provisions that might otherwise violate a different statute in R.C. Title 49—Public Utilities Commission's approval of renewable-generation rider on a placeholder basis upheld because no harm or prejudice to ratepayers has been shown—Order affirmed.

Mandamus—Elections—Writ of mandamus sought to compel placement of R.C. 3311.242 proposal on March 2020 primary-election ballot—Board of elections ordered to review and examine petition under R.C. 3501.11(K)(1) and perform any duties required by law for potential placement of the petition on the March 2020 ballot—Limited writ granted.

Criminal Law—Aggravated murder—Ineffective assistance of trial counsel—Empanelment of biased juror—Convictions and death sentence reversed and cause remanded.

Attorneys—Misconduct—Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct—Six-month suspension.

Unauthorized practice of law—A person may negotiate a debt on behalf of another without practicing law—Whether a person engages in the practice of law while negotiating a debt depends on whether that person's actions include the rendering of legal services, such as giving legal advice, drafting legal documents, or raising legal defenses—Injunction issued and civil penalty imposed in 1 of 31 alleged instances of misconduct.

Habeas corpus—Res judicata—Inmate made same argument numerous times in prior actions—Court of appeals' grant of summary judgment affirmed.

Taxation—Public-utility excise tax—R.C. 5727.33(B)(1)'s exclusion of "receipts derived wholly from interstate business" from a public utility's computation of its taxable gross receipts does not apply to receipts earned by transporting gas solely within Ohio—Imposing such tax does not violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution—Board of Tax Appeals' decision affirmed.

Prohibition—Court of common pleas had subject-matter jurisdiction to enter charging order and appoint receiver—Court of appeals' judgment dismissing complaint affirmed.

Criminal law—Fourth Amendment—Crim.R. 41(C)(2) does not bar a trial court from considering unrecorded oral testimony when evaluating a detective's good-faith reliance on a warrant—Court of appeals' judgment reversed and cause remanded.

Workers' compensation—Permanent total disability—Industrial commission is required to consider all evidence properly before it but is not required to list in its order each piece of evidence considered—Order need list only the evidence relied on—Court of appeals' judgment granting limited writ of mandamus reversed.

Attorneys—Misconduct—Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct—Two-year suspension.

Appeal dismissed as having been improvidently accepted.

Attorneys—Misconduct—Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, including failing to act with reasonable diligence in representing a client and failing to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter—Conditionally stayed six-month suspension.

Criminal law—Final, appealable order—A conviction on one count of a multicount indictment is not a final, appealable order when other counts remain pending after a mistrial—When a criminal defendant is convicted and sentenced on fewer than all counts of a multicount indictment and the state is prevented from retrying the defendant on the remaining counts due to a finding that the defendant is incompetent to stand trial, the incompetency finding operates to sever the charges and the defendant may appeal his conviction and sentence.

Crim.R. 33(A)(4)—Neither the double-jeopardy protection nor R.C. 2945.67 prevents the state from appealing an order granting a new trial based on insufficient evidence.

Mandamus—A motion for relief from judgment may not be used as a means to litigate an argument that has been waived—Court of appeals' judgment affirmed.

R.C. 2743.03(A)—Employer's claim against Bureau of Workers' Compensation is a legal claim, not an equitable claim, and thus, it should have been filed in the Court of Claims.

Torts—Wrongful termination in violation of public policy—Employee terminated after questioning employer's failure to accurately report earnings to Bureau of Unemployment Compensation—Employee failed to meet jeopardy element of claim for wrongful termination—R.C. Chapter 4141 does not contain a personal remedy for an employee when employer fails to accurately report earnings—Remedies in statutes sufficiently protect society's interest in discouraging employers from engaging in prohibited behavior.

Attorneys—Misconduct—Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, namely, engaging in sexual activity with a client in absence of preexisting consensual sexual relationship—One-year suspension, fully stayed on condition.

Criminal law—R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(c)—A familial relationship is not a mental or physical condition—Judgment reversed in part and cause remanded.

Mandamus—Res judicata—Appellant's claim against the Bureau of Sentence Computation, a division of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, barred in light of previous rulings on the same claim in cases between appellant and parties in privity with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction—Court of appeals' judgment affirmed—Appellant declared a vexatious litigator.

Attorneys—Misconduct—Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the Rules for the Government of the Bar—Indefinite suspension.

Habeas corpus—Inmate failed to comply with filing requirements of R.C. 2969.25(A)—Court of appeals' dismissal of petition affirmed.

On application for reinstatement.

On application for reinstatement.

On application for reinstatement.

On application for reinstatement.

On application for reinstatement.