Case Title: State ex rel. Foster v. Belmont Cty. Court of Common Pleas

Citation: 2005-Ohio-6184

Docket Number: 20050768

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2005-12-07T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Cite as State ex rel. Foster v. Belmont Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 107 Ohio St.3d 195, 2005-
Ohio-6184.] 
 
 
THE STATE EX REL. FOSTER, APPELLANT, v. BELMONT COUNTY COURT OF 
COMMON PLEAS ET AL., APPELLEES. 
[Cite as State ex rel. Foster v. Belmont Cty. Court of Common Pleas,  
107 Ohio St.3d 195, 2005-Ohio-6184.] 
Prohibition — Claim for release from prison cognizable in habeas corpus, not 
prohibition — Failure to comply with R.C. 2969.25, governing civil 
actions by prisoners — Dismissal of petition affirmed. 
(No. 2005-0768 — Submitted October 12, 2005 — Decided December 7, 2005.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Belmont County,  
No. 04-BE-55, 2005-Ohio-1353. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing a complaint for a 
writ of prohibition. 
{¶ 2} In 1991, appellant, Kent C. Foster, was convicted of two counts of 
rape, one count of felonious sexual penetration, and one lesser included offense of 
gross sexual imposition and was sentenced to prison.  On appeal, his conviction 
and sentence were affirmed.  State v. Foster (Apr. 12, 1994), Belmont App. No. 
91-B-17, 1994 WL 149881. 
{¶ 3} In October 2004, Foster filed a complaint in the Court of Appeals 
for Belmont County for a writ of prohibition against appellees, Belmont County 
Court of Common Pleas, Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the 
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.  Foster requested that the writ 
issue “to vacate his sentence and records as it is a legal nullity.”  Although Foster 
filed an affidavit of indigency indicating that he could not pay the fee to file his 
original action, he did not file the statement required by R.C. 2969.25(C)(1) 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
 
setting forth the balance in his inmate account “for each of the preceding six 
months, as certified by the institutional cashier.”  Appellees moved to dismiss.  
On March 16, 2005, the court of appeals dismissed the complaint. 
{¶ 4} This cause is now before us upon Foster’s appeal as of right. 
{¶ 5} We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.  Foster essentially 
seeks release from prison, but habeas corpus, rather than prohibition, is the 
appropriate action to obtain this type of relief.  State ex rel. Nelson v. Griffin, 103 
Ohio St.3d 167, 2004-Ohio-4754, 814 N.E.2d 866, ¶ 5.  In addition, Foster’s 
failure to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C)(1) warranted dismissal.  State ex rel. 
Qualls v. Story, 104 Ohio St.3d 343, 2004-Ohio-6565, 819 N.E.2d 701, ¶ 3. 
Judgment affirmed. 
 
MOYER, C.J., RESNICK, PFEIFER, LUNDBERG STRATTON, O’CONNOR, 
O’DONNELL and LANZINGER, JJ., concur. 
__________________ 
 
Kent C. Foster, pro se. 
 
Christopher Berhalter, Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney, and Robert 
W. Quirk, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellees Belmont County Court of 
Common Pleas and Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. 
 
Jim Petro, Attorney General, and Jeri L. Fosnaught, Assistant Attorney 
General, for appellee Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. 
______________________