Case Title: State ex rel. Steele v. Eppinger

Citation: 2016-Ohio-5790

Docket Number: 2015-1974

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2016-09-14T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State 
ex rel. Steele v. Eppinger, Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-5790.] 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an 
advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested to 
promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 
South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other 
formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before 
the opinion is published. 
 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2016-OHIO-5790 
THE STATE EX REL. STEELE, APPELLANT, v. EPPINGER, WARDEN, APPELLEE. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as State ex rel. Steele v. Eppinger, Slip Opinion No.  
2016-Ohio-5790.] 
Habeas corpus—Res judicata did not preclude appellant’s convictions after 
reindictment—Court of appeals’ dismissal of petition affirmed. 
(No. 2015-1974—Submitted July 12, 2016—Decided September 14, 2016.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Lorain County, No. 15CA010810. 
_____________________ 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} We affirm the Ninth District Court of Appeals’ dismissal of the 
petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by appellant, Tracee Steele. 
{¶ 2} In 2006, Steele was indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury on 13 
counts of gross sexual imposition among other offenses.  Before trial, the Cuyahoga 
County Prosecuting Attorney obtained a second indictment, which charged Steele 
with 11 counts of gross sexual imposition and alleged the same victim, facts, and 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
 
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circumstances as the first indictment.  At trial, the judge noted the two indictments 
against Steele and suggested that the state move to dismiss one of them.  The judge 
granted the state’s motion to dismiss the first indictment, and Steele pleaded guilty 
to five counts of gross sexual imposition charged in the second indictment and was 
sentenced to 15 years in prison. 
{¶ 3} On July 10, 2015, Steele filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, 
claiming that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to try him, because the matter was 
res judicata.  Steele argued that the doctrine of res judicata precludes his 
convictions, because the first indictment was dismissed with prejudice and included 
the same charges and was based on the same facts and circumstances as the second 
indictment. 
{¶ 4} The court of appeals interpreted Steele’s argument to be a double-
jeopardy claim and dismissed the petition, reasoning that double-jeopardy claims 
are not cognizable in habeas corpus.  To the extent that Steele’s petition can be 
interpreted as presenting a double-jeopardy claim, the court’s analysis is correct.  
Elersic v. Wilson, 101 Ohio St.3d 417, 2004-Ohio-1501, 805 N.E.2d 1127, ¶ 3, 
citing Howard v. Randle, 95 Ohio St.3d 281, 2002-Ohio-2122, 767 N.E.2d 268,  
¶ 6. 
{¶ 5} However, Steele insists that his claim asserts res judicata, not a 
double-jeopardy violation. If an indictment is dismissed on the merits, the doctrine 
of res judicata precludes a reindictment based on the same facts and evidence.  State 
v. Lababidi, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 89460, 2008-Ohio-574, ¶ 10; State v. Hay, 169 
Ohio App.3d 59, 2006-Ohio-5126, 861 N.E.2d 893, ¶ 24 (2d Dist.). 
{¶ 6} Steele asserts that the first indictment was dismissed with prejudice, 
but the trial court’s entry does not say that.  In addition, his own petition makes 
clear that the first indictment was dismissed not on the merits but rather, to prevent 
a double-jeopardy violation. 
January Term, 2016 
 
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{¶ 7} Thus, because the first indictment was not dismissed on the merits, 
the doctrine of res judicata did not preclude Steele’s convictions. 
Judgment affirmed. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY, 
FRENCH, and O’NEILL, JJ., concur. 
_________________ 
Tracee Steele, pro se. 
Michael DeWine, Attorney General, and Paul Kerridge, Assistant Attorney 
General, for appellee. 
_________________