Summary
The Ohio Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Albert Rembert’s declaratory judgment action challenging criminal sentences entered by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. The court held that the Marion County Court of Common Pleas lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to review another county’s judgment and that declaratory judgment is not a substitute for direct appeal or post-conviction remedies.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether a Marion County Court of Common Pleas may use a declaratory-judgment action to review or vacate a criminal judgment entered by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
- Whether declaratory judgment is an available substitute for a direct criminal appeal or a statutory post-conviction proceeding.
- Whether the trial court properly dismissed the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Holdings
- A common pleas court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction to review or vacate a judgment entered by a common pleas court in another county; authority to overrule another court's judgment is vested in courts of direct review.
- Declaratory judgment is not a proper vehicle for direct or collateral review of a criminal judgment and cannot substitute for a direct appeal, post-conviction petition, habeas corpus, or motion to vacate.
Key quotations
“For direct and collateral attacks alike, declaratory judgment is simply not a part of the criminal appellate or postconviction review process.” (¶ 4)
“A declaratory- judgment action cannot be used as a substitute for any of these remedies.” (¶ 4)
Factual background
Rembert was convicted of aggravated murder and possession of criminal tools in Cuyahoga County in 1978 and was later paroled. In 2011, he entered an Alford plea in Franklin County to felonious assault and intimidation of a crime victim or witness and received five years of community control. After his parole was revoked, he filed a declaratory-judgment action in Marion County challenging the legality and constitutionality of the Franklin County sentences.
Procedural history
Rembert filed a declaratory-judgment complaint in the Marion County Court of Common Pleas seeking to invalidate criminal sentences imposed by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. The State moved to dismiss, arguing that declaratory judgment could not substitute for a direct appeal or post-conviction proceeding. The Marion County court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and the Third District affirmed.