Case Title: State ex rel. R.W. v. Sweeney

Citation: 2010-Ohio-223

Docket Number: 20091624 and 20091626

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as 
State ex rel. R.W. v. Sweeney, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-223.] 
 
 
 
 
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. 2010-OHIO-223 
THE STATE EX REL. R.W., APPELLANT, v. SWEENEY, JUDGE, APPELLEE. 
THE STATE EX REL. R.W., APPELLANT, v. SWEENEY, JUDGE, ET AL., 
APPELLEES. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as State ex rel. R.W. v. Sweeney,  
Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-223.] 
Appeal from judgment denying writs of prohibition and mandamus — Appeal 
from judgment denying writ of habeas corpus — Prohibition and 
mandamus are not appropriate remedies for release from physical 
confinement — Adequate remedy at law available — Judgments affirmed. 
(Nos. 2009-1624 and 2009-1626 — Submitted January 26, 2010 — Decided 
February 2, 2010.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County, Nos. 93414 and 93415. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals denying writs of 
prohibition and mandamus to compel appellee Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
 
Judge Kristen W. Sweeney to release appellant, juvenile delinquent R.W., from 
home detention and to terminate any future dispositional hearings.  We also 
affirm the judgment of the court of appeals denying a writ of habeas corpus to 
compel appellees, Judge Sweeney, the juvenile court administrator, and the 
detention services supervisor, to release R.W. from home detention. 
{¶ 2} Prohibition and mandamus are not the appropriate remedies for 
release from physical confinement.  See, e.g., State ex rel. Key v. Spicer (2001), 
91 Ohio St.3d 469, 746 N.E.2d 1119; State ex rel. Elko v. Suster, 110 Ohio St.3d 
212, 2006-Ohio-4248, 852 N.E.2d 731, ¶ 4. 
{¶ 3} Furthermore, Judge Sweeney did not patently and unambiguously 
lack jurisdiction over R.W. when he served three days in secure detention after he 
admitted to committing three misdemeanors, because the time served in detention 
was not manifestly a final dispositional sentence.  See Juv.R. 7.  As the court of 
appeals observed, the order failed to make any reference to a final disposition, and 
a subsequent order more than a year later referred to a disposition of the case.  
R.W. thus had an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law from the 
subsequent dispositional order to raise his jurisdictional claim.  He is not entitled 
to a writ of habeas corpus to compel his release from home detention.  See In re 
Complaint for Writ of Habeas Corpus for Goeller, 103 Ohio St.3d 427, 2004-
Ohio-5579, 816 N.E.2d 594, ¶ 6 (“Like other extraordinary-writ actions, habeas 
corpus is not available when there is an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of 
law”); State ex rel. Mowen v. Mowen, 119 Ohio St.3d 462, 2008-Ohio-4759, 895 
N.E.2d 163, ¶ 12 (in the absence of a patent and unambiguous lack of jurisdiction 
on the part of the juvenile court, habeas corpus petitioner had an adequate remedy 
at law by appeal from any potentially adverse judgment to raise jurisdictional 
claim).1 
                                                 
1. We deny appellant’s renewed motion to supplement the record.  See Dzina v. Celebrezze, 108 
Ohio St.3d 385, 2006-Ohio-1195, 843 N.E.2d 1202, ¶ 16. 
January Term, 2010 
3 
 
Judgments affirmed. 
 
MOYER, 
C.J., 
and 
PFEIFER, 
LUNDBERG 
STRATTON, 
O’CONNOR, 
O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, and CUPP, JJ., concur. 
__________________ 
 
Robert L. Tobik, Cuyahoga County Public Defender, and Cullen Sweeney, 
Assistant Public Defender, for appellant. 
 
William D. Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and James E. 
Moss, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellees. 
______________________