Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

1994 Ohio 74

Cornell v. Schotten

Ohio Supreme Court

Decided June 22, 1994

Ohio Supreme Court · decided 1994-06-22

Writ of habeas corpus seeking relief from confinement—Petition dismissed for failure to attach copies of commitment papers or cause of detention as required by R.C. 2725.04(D)—Habeas corpus not a substitute for appeal or post-conviction relief.

Relies on Bloss v. Rogers · Cornell v. Schotten · 7 Ohio St. 2d 102 - In re Piazza

Decided 1994-06-22

[This opinion has been published in Ohio Official Reports at 
69 Ohio St.3d 466
.]




           CORNELL, APPELLANT, v. SCHOTTEN, WARDEN, APPELLEE.
                    [Cite as Cornell v. Schotten, 
1994-Ohio-74
.]
Writ of habeas corpus seeking relief from confinement—Petition dismissed for
        failure to attach copies of commitment papers or cause of detention as
        required by R.C. 2725.04(D)—Habeas corpus not a substitute for appeal or
        post-conviction relief.
       (No. 93-2308—Submitted March 29, 1994—Decided June 22, 1994.)
     APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Trumbull County, No. 93-T-940.
                                  __________________
        {¶ 1} Appellant, James E. Cornell, filed a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus in the Court of Appeals for Trumbull County, alleging that he was accused
of a crime and deprived of his liberty without due process of law. That court
dismissed the petition due to appellant's failure to attach copies of his commitment
papers or cause of detention, as required by R.C. 2725.04(D).
        {¶ 2} The cause is before the court upon an appeal as of right.
                                  __________________
        James E. Cornell, pro se.
        Lee Fisher, Attorney General, and John J. Gideon, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee.
                                  __________________
        Per Curiam.
        {¶ 3} Appellant first contends that his duty to submit commitment papers
was negated when respondent, J.L. Schotten, Warden of the Trumbull Correctional
Institution, supplied a copy of the commitment order with a motion to dismiss the
complaint. Appellant further contends that his memorandum in opposition to the
motion to dismiss cured his failure to comply with R.C. 2725.04(D). However,
                             SUPREME COURT OF OHIO




R.C. 2725.04(D) explicitly requires that a copy of the cause of detention be attached
to a petition for habeas corpus. We held in Bloss v. Rogers (1992), 
65 Ohio St.3d 145
, 
602 N.E.2d 602
, that failure to attach a copy of the cause of detention to a
petition for habeas corpus results in the petition being fatally defective. See, also,
State ex rel. Parker v. Ohio Parole Bd. (1993), 
68 Ohio St.3d 23
, 
623 N.E.2d 37
.
       {¶ 4} Moreover, the other issues that appellant seeks to raise in this appeal
are not jurisdictional in nature as required by R.C. 2725.05. Appellant seeks release
from detention on several grounds, including insufficient evidence, improper
witness testimony, allegations that only eleven members of the sentencing jury
were polled concerning his guilty verdict, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Appellant has or had an adequate remedy at law for each of these allegations. We
have long held that habeas corpus will not be substituted for appeal or post-conviction relief. In re Piazza (1966), 
7 Ohio St.2d 102
, 
36 O.O.2d 84
, 
218 N.E.2d 459
, and Bellman v. Jago (1988), 
38 Ohio St.3d 55
, 
526 N.E.2d 308
.
       {¶ 5} The judgment of the court of appeals is affirmed.
                                                                 Judgment affirmed.
       MOYER, C.J., A.W. SWEENEY, DOUGLAS, WRIGHT, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY
and PFEIFER, JJ., concur.
                               __________________




                                          2

/1994/ohio/74 · .json · Public domain