Summary
The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the dismissal of Damon Robinson’s habeas corpus petition against Warden Michele Miller. The court held that Robinson’s failure to submit a certified six-month inmate-account statement with his in forma pauperis filing violated R.C. 2969.25(C)(1), while the opinion also discusses the separate requirement to attach commitment papers under R.C. 2725.04(D).
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the habeas petition was subject to dismissal because Robinson failed to attach a certified statement of his inmate-account balance for each of the six months preceding filing, as required by R.C. 2969.25(C)(1).
- Whether the court of appeals properly dismissed the habeas petition for failure to attach all commitment papers required by R.C. 2725.04(D).
Holdings
- An inmate who files a civil action in forma pauperis must submit an affidavit of indigency and a certified statement setting forth the balance in the inmate account for each of the preceding six months. Failure to satisfy that mandatory statutory requirement subjects the action to dismissal.
Key quotations
“The requirements of R.C. 2969.25 “ ‘are mandatory, and failure to comply with them subjects an inmate’s action to dismissal.’ ”” (¶ 7)
“A statement that sets forth the balance in the inmate account of the inmate for each of the preceding six months, as certified by the institutional cashier.” (¶ 7)
Factual background
Robinson received a 7-to-25-year sentence in 1995 for felonious assault on a police officer and was later released on parole. After pleading guilty to resisting arrest in 2011 and serving a community-control sanction, he was ordered in 2013 to serve a three-year sentence for violating community control. In February 2015, the Ohio Parole Board found that he had violated parole relating to the 1995 sentence and imposed an additional three-year term without first holding a revocation hearing. Robinson claimed that he had received a final release from the 1995 conviction and that the board lacked authority to continue his confinement.
Procedural history
Robinson filed a state habeas petition challenging the Ohio Parole Board's additional term of confinement for an alleged parole violation. The Seventh District dismissed the petition because Robinson did not attach all required commitment papers under R.C. 2725.04(D). The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed, relying on Robinson's separate failure to attach a certified six-month inmate-account statement required by R.C. 2969.25(C)(1), and dismissed his motion to supplement the record as moot.