Appenzeller v. Miller, 136 Ohio St. 3d 378

Appenzeller was convicted on multiple felonies in Lake County and received an aggregate 28-year sentence; appeals and postconviction petitions in the Eleventh District and trial court were largely unsuccessful.
After remand and resentencing, the Eleventh District affirmed Appenzeller’s convictions and sentence.
Appenzeller, incarcerated in Belmont County, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Seventh District, alleging a break in the chain of custody of the trial transcript during his direct appeal.
The alleged break occurred when Appenzeller’s appointed appellate counsel checked out the trial transcript from the Eleventh District clerk’s office to prepare Appenzeller’s brief.
Appenzeller argued the transcript removal violated the Eleventh District’s Loc.R. 11 and his due-process and equal-protection rights.
The Seventh District dismissed the habeas petition; the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed, holding removal was permitted with permission and that habeas corpus was not the proper vehicle to raise the asserted nonjurisdictional defect.

Issue	Appenzeller's Argument	Miller's Argument	Held
Whether removal of the trial transcript by Appenzeller’s appellate counsel broke the chain of custody and violated Loc.R. 11	That counsel’s checkout constituted an improper break in custody and denied due process/equal protection	The Eleventh District rule allows transcript removal with permission; counsel’s checkout did not violate Appenzeller’s rights	Removal was permitted by the local rule and did not violate due process or equal protection
Whether the alleged transcript irregularity supports habeas corpus relief	The transcript custody issue deprived him of a fair appeal and warrants habeas relief	Habeas corpus lies only to challenge jurisdictional defects or where no adequate remedy at law exists; Appenzeller had other remedies (postconviction proceedings)	Habeas corpus is inappropriate for this nonjurisdictional error; petition fails and was properly dismissed

Chari v. Vore, 91 Ohio St.3d 323 (Ohio 2001) (discussing the court’s plenary authority to decide writ cases without remand)
State ex rel. Motor Carrier Serv., Inc. v. Rankin, 135 Ohio St.3d 395 (Ohio 2013) (standards for granting oral argument and court discretion)
State ex rel. Davis v. Pub. Emps. Retirement Bd., 111 Ohio St.3d 118 (Ohio 2006) (factors for granting oral argument)
State ex rel. Cleveland Police Patrolme’s Assn. v. Cleveland, 84 Ohio St.3d 310 (Ohio 1999) (use of plenary authority in writ cases)
State ex rel. Jackson v. McFaul, 73 Ohio St.3d 185 (Ohio 1995) (habeas corpus limited to jurisdictional defects or where no adequate legal remedy exists)
State ex rel. Pirman v. Money, 69 Ohio St.3d 591 (Ohio 1995) (same principle on habeas corpus availability)