Alexander v. Eberlin, 06 Be 38 (9-17-2007)
Alexander v. Eberlin, 06 Be 38 (9-17-2007)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellant Tony Alexander appeals a judgment of the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas dismissing his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Appellant filed the writ because he believed that he was to receive additional jail-time credit. If the credit had been properly applied, he argues, he should have been released from prison on March 25, 2006. The trial court dismissed the petition on June 20, 2006, and this decision was appealed. The trial court was correct in dismissing the petition, however. Appellant alleges that the jail time credit he is seeking should be credited to his scheduled release date, which was December 5, 2006. Appellant's release date passed a few days after Appellee filed its responsive brief in this appeal. A writ of habeas corpus is moot once the sentence has expired and where the petitioner is no longer being held unlawfully by the state. Crase v. Bradshaw,{¶ 2} On June 17, 2002, Appellant pleaded no contest in Cuyahoga County to possession of drugs and preparation of drugs for sale, and was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. Appellant filed an appeal, and remained free on bond during the appeal. The conviction and sentence were eventually upheld on appeal. State v. Alexander,
{¶ 3} On December 6, 2005, the court filed another judgment entry, which determined that Appellant would receive jail-time credit for actual time served after June 22, 2001. Appellant did not appeal this judgment. Apparently, this judgment entry resulted in the removal of previously applied jail-time credit. This entry was also the catalyst causing Appellant to file his petition for writ of habeas corpus.
{¶ 4} On February 2, 2006, The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation sent a letter to Appellant explaining that jail-time credit previously applied from 5/1/97 to 1/28/98 for time spent in prison in Kentucky would be removed from the jail-time credit applied to the Cuyahoga County case. The letter stated that he would continue to receive jail-time credit for the periods 1/3/03 to 8/30/04, 10/20/05 to 11/15/05, and for 9/17/01.
{¶ 5} Appellant filed his habeas petition in Belmont County on May 11, 2006. The petition alleged that Appellant should have been released from the Belmont Correctional Institution on March 25, 2006, if the proper amount of jail-time credit had been applied. *Page 3
{¶ 6} On May 18, 2006, the court filed another related judgment entry, awarding Appellant an additional 30 days of jail-time credit. Appellant did not appeal that judgment.
{¶ 7} The trial court dismissed the petition on June 20, 2006. The trial court held that habeas relief was not proper to challenge a sentencing error that could have been challenged on direct appeal, and that the petition was deficient because Appellant's commitment papers were not attached as required by R.C.
{¶ 8} The resolution of this appeal was delayed due to Appellant's failure to file a timely brief, and Appellee's attempt to have the appeal dismissed. Appellant eventually filed a handwritten document that we accepted as a brief on September 28, 2006. On November 27, 2006, Appellant attempted to file supplemental assignments of error on unrelated issues, but this was rejected by us in a journal entry dated December 15, 2006.
{¶ 10} It must be noted first that Appellant cannot succeed on appeal because his petition for writ of habeas corpus and his arguments on appeal indicate that he has already been released from prison. " `[H]abeas corpus in Ohio is generally appropriate in the criminal context only if the petitioner is entitled to immediate release from prison or some type of physical confinement.' " Smith v. Leis,
{¶ 11} There are also technical difficulties with Appellant's petition that required the trial court to dismiss it. R.C.
{¶ 12} Habeas relief is only appropriate when there are no adequate remedies available at law. Thomas v. Huffman (1998),
{¶ 13} For all these reasons, the judgment of the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas dismissing Appellant's petition for writ of habeas corpus is affirmed. We note that this is not a claim that is, "capable of repetition, yet evading review." *Page 6
Spencer v. Kemna (1998),
*Page 1Vukovich, J., DeGenaro, P.J., concurs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Tony Alexander v. Warden Michele Eberlin
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published