Opinion

State ex rel. Zanders v. Ohio Parole Bd.

  • 82 Ohio St. 3d 421
  • 1998 Ohio 218
Court
Ohio Supreme Court
Filed
Jul 29, 1998
Status
Published
Cited by
112 cases
Authority
More cited than 96.4%

The opinion

[This opinion has been published in Ohio Official Reports at 82 Ohio St.3d 421.]

THE STATE EX REL. ZANDERS, APPELLANT, v. OHIO PAROLE BOARD,

APPELLEE.

[Cite as State ex rel. Zanders v. Ohio Parole Bd., 1998-Ohio-218.]

Habeas corpus and mandamus to compel relator’s immediate release from

prison—Petition dismissed, when.

(No. 98-34—Submitted June 24, 1998—Decided July 29, 1998.)

APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Lorain County, No. 97CA006960.

__________________

{¶ 1} In November 1997, appellant, Lawrence Zanders, filed a petition in

the Court of Appeals for Franklin County requesting writs of mandamus and habeas

corpus to compel appellee, Ohio Parole Board, to immediately release him from

prison. Zanders claimed that the Ohio Parole Board erred by rescinding its previous

decision to release him on parole on or after a certain date and subsequently denying

parole pending disposition of remanded involuntary manslaughter charges.

Zanders attached copies of these decisions to his petition but did not file an affidavit

describing each civil action or appeal of a civil action he had filed in the previous

five years in any state or federal court, as specified by R.C. 2969.25(A).

{¶ 2} The court of appeals sua sponte dismissed the petition.

{¶ 3} This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right.

__________________

Lawrence Zanders, pro se.

Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, and Karen L. Killian, Assistant

Attorney General, for appellee.

__________________

Per Curiam.

SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

{¶ 4} Zanders asserts in his sole proposition of law that the court of appeals

erred in dismissing his petition. For the reasons that follow, however, Zanders’s

assertion lacks merit.

{¶ 5} First, as the court of appeals held, Zanders failed to comply with the

mandatory requirements of R.C. 2969.25 in commencing his action. See State ex

rel. Alford v. Winters (1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 285, 286, 685 N.E.2d 1242, 1242-1243.

Like the appellant in Alford, Zanders does not assert that R.C. 2969.25 is

inapplicable to habeas corpus and mandamus actions.

{¶ 6} Second, the Parole Board possesses discretion to rescind an

unexecuted order for a prisoner to receive parole at a future date. Hattie v.

Anderson (1994), 68 Ohio St.3d 232, 233, 626 N.E.2d 67, 70. Zanders has no right

to be released before the expiration of his sentence. State ex rel. Lake v. Anderson

(1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 491, 492, 687 N.E.2d 453.

{¶ 7} Finally, Zanders was not entitled to a writ of mandamus because

mandamus is not the appropriate remedy for persons claiming entitlement to release

from prison. State ex rel. Smith v. Yost (1998), 81 Ohio St.3d 111, 112, 689 N.E.2d

565, 566.

{¶ 8} 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.

__________________

2

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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