State ex rel. Sands v. Court of Common Pleas (Slip Opinion)
State ex rel. Sands v. Court of Common Pleas (Slip Opinion)
Opinion
*238 {¶ 1} Appellant, Joseph A. Sands, appeals the decision of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals dismissing his complaint for a writ of mandamus against the Lake County Court of Common Pleas. For the reasons set forth below, we deny Sands's motion for oral argument and affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.
Background
{¶ 2}
Sands was convicted in the Lake County Common Pleas Court on three counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
State v. Sands
, 11th Dist. Lake No. 2007-L-003,
{¶ 3} On June 19, 2017, Sands commenced the present action for a writ of mandamus against the Lake County Common Pleas Court. The complaint provided a lengthy procedural background and raised a host of objections to his convictions and sentences (discussed below) but requested no specific mandamus relief. On August 11, 2017, Judge Vincent A. Culotta, on behalf of the Lake County Common Pleas Court, filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment.
{¶ 4}
On November 13, 2017, the court of appeals granted the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in mandamus. The court of appeals gave two reasons for dismissing the complaint: first, the complaint did not request any
*239
relief and second, mandamus was unavailable because all the issues raised in the complaint could have been raised on direct appeal from the convictions.
{¶ 5} Sands timely appealed.
The motion for oral argument
{¶ 6}
We have discretion whether to grant oral argument in an original action. S.Ct.Prac.R. 17.02. In exercising that discretion, we consider whether the case "involves a matter of great public importance, complex issues of law or fact, a substantial constitutional issue, or a conflict among courts of appeals."
State ex rel. BF Goodrich Co., Specialty Chems. Div. v. Indus. Comm.
,
The merits of the appeal
{¶ 7}
To be entitled to a writ of mandamus, a party must establish, by clear and convincing evidence, (1) a clear legal right to the requested relief, (2) a clear legal duty on the part of the respondent to provide it, and (3) the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law.
State ex rel. Love v. O'Donnell
,
{¶ 8}
The "unsupported conclusions of a complaint are not considered admitted and are not sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss."
State ex rel. Seikbert v. Wilkinson
,
*240 {¶ 9} Moreover, the specific allegations in the complaint fail to state a claim in mandamus. Sands challenges his convictions and sentences on the grounds that
• the indictment was defective,
• there was insufficient evidence to convict him of a pattern of corrupt activity,
• the time frame for the actions underlying his conviction for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity was insufficient to support the charge,
• he cannot be convicted of both conspiracy and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, as a matter of law,
• he was improperly extradited to Ohio,
• the trial judge failed to make the required factual findings before imposing consecutive sentences, and
• the judgment entry was defective because it renumbered the counts from how they appeared in the indictment.
{¶ 10}
With respect to all these allegations, mandamus will not lie because Sands had an adequate legal remedy by way of direct appeal from his criminal convictions.
See
State ex rel. Hamilton v. Brunner
,
{¶ 11}
Finally, Sands suggests that the trial court failed to dispose of all charges against him in a single document, in violation of Crim.R. 32(C). But his complaint does not identify which charge or charges the trial court supposedly failed to resolve in the sentencing entry, and he did not attach the judgment entry or entries to the complaint. He has therefore failed to plead sufficient facts to state a claim for mandamus relief.
See
State ex rel. Hickman v. Capots
,
{¶ 12} The court of appeals correctly dismissed the complaint, and we affirm.
Judgment affirmed.
O'Connor, C.J., and O'Donnell, Kennedy, French, Fischer, DeWine, and DeGenaro, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The STATE EX REL. SANDS, Appellant, v. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUDGE, Appellee.
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Mandamus—Appellant not entitled to extraordinary relief in mandamus because he failed to identify the alleged duty he sought to enforece and he had an adequate remedy by way of appeal—Court of appeals' dismissal affirmed.