Case Title: State ex rel. Dozier v. Mack

Citation: 1999-Ohio-387

Docket Number: 19982491

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 1999-04-28T00:00:00Z

Document:
THE STATE EX REL. DOZIER, APPELLANT, v. MACK, WARDEN, APPELLEE. 
[Cite as State ex rel. Dozier v. Mack (1999), ___ Ohio St.3d ___.] 
Habeas corpus to compel prison warden to release relator from prison — Petition 
dismissed, when. 
(No. 98-2491 — Submitted March 31, 1999 — Decided April 28, 1999.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Madison County, No. CA98-08-029. 
 
In October 1978, in two criminal cases based on indictments charging 
appellant, Michael Dozier, with numerous criminal offenses, the Cuyahoga County 
Court of Common Pleas convicted Dozier of one count of aggravated murder, three 
counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, and six counts of 
rape.  The common pleas court sentenced Dozier to life imprisonment on his 
aggravated murder conviction and to consecutive seven-to-twenty-five-year terms 
on the other convictions.  The common pleas court also ordered that Dozier’s 
sentences in these two cases be served consecutively to Dozier’s sentences in a 
third criminal case. 
 
In August 1998, Dozier filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to compel 
appellee, Dozier’s prison warden, to release him from prison. Dozier attached 
copies of the common pleas court’s 1978 judgments of conviction and sentence in 
two of his criminal cases but did not attach a copy of his judgment of conviction 
and sentence in a third criminal case referred to in the other two judgment entries.  
Dozier claimed that he was entitled to be released from prison because no criminal 
complaints had ever been filed in his criminal cases.  Appellee filed a motion to 
dismiss.  The court of appeals granted appellee’s motion and dismissed Dozier’s 
habeas corpus petition. 
 
This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right. 
__________________ 
 
Michael Dozier, pro se. 
 
2
 
Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, and Michele M. Schoeppe, 
Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam.  Dozier asserts in his sole proposition of law that the court of 
appeals erred in dismissing his habeas corpus petition.  For the following reasons, 
the court of appeals correctly dismissed the petition. 
 
First, any defect by the alleged failure to file criminal complaints is not 
cognizable in habeas corpus because Dozier was convicted and sentenced upon 
indictments rather than complaints.  Thornton v. Russell (1998), 82 Ohio St.3d 93, 
94, 694 N.E.2d 464, 465, citing State v. Wac (1981), 68 Ohio St.2d 84, 87, 22 
O.O.3d 299, 301, 428 N.E.2d 428, 431, fn. 2. 
 
Second, Dozier did not attach copies of all of his pertinent commitment 
papers to his petition.  R.C. 2725.04(D); McBroom v. Russell (1996), 77 Ohio 
St.3d 47, 48, 671 N.E.2d 10, 11.  Although the attachments to his petition refer to a 
third criminal sentence, commitment papers for that sentence are not attached.  
Smith v. Mitchell (1998), 80 Ohio St.3d 624, 625, 687 N.E.2d 749, 750. 
 
Based on the foregoing, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals. 
Judgment affirmed. 
 
MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK and 
LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., concur.