State ex rel. Prade v. Ninth District Court of Appeals

In this original action, Relator requested a writ of prohibition to void the court of appeals’ judgment in the State’s appeal of a judgment granting Relator postconviction relief, to void the common pleas judge’s subsequent orders on remand, and to preclude the court of appeals from ruling on Relator’s direct appeal of the judge’s denial of his motion for a new trial. Upon the State’s appeal, the court of appeals reversed the court of common pleas’ determination that Relator, who was convicted of murdering his former wife, was actually innocent of the aggravated murder and grant of postconviction relief under Ohio Rev. Code 2953.21. On remand, a new common pleas judge reinstated Relator’s aggravated murder conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court denied the writ of prohibition, holding (1) Ohio Rev. Code 2945.67(A) and 2953.23(B) unambiguously allow the State an absolute right to appeal a judgment granting postconviction relief; and (2) therefore, Respondents’ exercise of jurisdiction following the trial court’s judgment was not unauthorized by law. View "State ex rel. Prade v. Ninth District Court of Appeals" on Justia Law