Title: State ex rel. Johnson v. Hudson

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

[Cite as State ex rel. Johnson v. Hudson, 118 Ohio St.3d 308, 2008-Ohio-2451.] 
 
 
THE STATE EX REL. JOHNSON, APPELLANT, v. HUDSON, WARDEN, APPELLEE. 
[Cite as State ex rel. Johnson v. Hudson,  
118 Ohio St.3d 308, 2008-Ohio-2451.] 
Habeas corpus—Successive petition barred by res judicata. 
(No. 2008-0326 ─ Submitted May 21, 2008 ─ Decided May 28, 2008.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Richland County, 
No. 07-CA-100, 2008-Ohio-34. 
____________________ 
 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing a petition for a writ 
of habeas corpus.  Because res judicata bars Johnson’s successive habeas corpus 
petition, we affirm. 
{¶ 2} In 1976, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court convicted 
appellant, John A. Johnson, of aggravated murder with specifications, kidnapping, 
and rape.  The common pleas court sentenced Johnson to death for the aggravated 
murder with specifications and further sentenced him to prison for his kidnapping 
and rape convictions.  On appeal, the court of appeals affirmed.  State v. Johnson 
(Jan. 30, 1978), Cuyahoga App. No. 36618, 1978 WL 217677.  In 1978, we 
reversed Johnson’s death sentence and modified the sentence to life imprisonment 
based on Lockett v. Ohio (1978), 438 U.S. 586, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 57 L.Ed.2d 973, 
and Bell v. Ohio (1978), 438 U.S. 637, 98 S.Ct. 2977, 57 L.Ed.2d 1010. 
{¶ 3} In 1998, Johnson filed a petition in the Court of Appeals for 
Richland County for a writ of habeas corpus to compel his release from prison 
because he had never been returned to the common pleas court for resentencing 
pursuant to Crim.R. 32 and 43 after his death sentence had been modified.  The 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
court of appeals dismissed Johnson’s petition, and on appeal, we affirmed.  
Johnson v. Mitchell (1999), 85 Ohio St.3d 123, 707 N.E.2d 471. 
{¶ 4} In October 2007, Johnson filed a second petition for a writ of 
habeas corpus in the Court of Appeals for Richland County.  Johnson claimed that 
he was entitled to the writ because both his 1976 sentencing entry and this court’s 
1978 entry modifying his death sentence to life imprisonment were void for 
several reasons, including that the sentencing entry did not comply with Crim.R. 
32.  Appellee, Mansfield Correctional Institution Warden Stuart Hudson, filed a 
motion to dismiss.  The court of appeals granted the warden’s motion and 
dismissed the petition. 
{¶ 5} We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.  Johnson could 
have raised his claims in his previous petition.  Wells v. Hudson, 113 Ohio St.3d 
308, 2007-Ohio-1955, 865 N.E.2d 46, ¶ 6.  Having filed a previous petition, 
Johnson is barred by res judicata from filing a successive habeas corpus petition.  
Everett v. Eberlin, 114 Ohio St.3d 199, 2007-Ohio-3832, 870 N.E.2d 1190, ¶ 8. 
Judgment affirmed. 
 
MOYER, 
C.J., 
and 
PFEIFER, 
LUNDBERG 
STRATTON, 
O’CONNOR, 
O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, and CUPP, JJ., concur. 
____________________ 
 
John A. Johnson, pro se. 
 
Nancy Hardin Rogers, Attorney General, and Diane Mallory, Assistant 
Attorney General, for appellee. 
____________________