State ex rel. Cowan v. Gallagher (Slip Opinion), 100 N.E.3d 407

Background

Craig A. Cowan was convicted on multiple counts and originally sentenced to consecutive prison terms totaling 18 years. The Eighth District affirmed but remanded for sentencing issues across multiple appeals (Cowan I–IV).
The appellate court in Cowan II specifically remanded for a de novo resentencing hearing; subsequent resentencings repeatedly failed to comply fully with appellate directives (notably postrelease-control advisements), prompting further remands.
Cowan filed two separate mandamus complaints in the appellate court against Judge Shannon M. Gallagher: one claiming the trial court failed to follow the Cowan II mandate to conduct a de novo resentencing (Case No. 2017-0220), and another claiming certain convictions were void because the trial court failed to merge allied offenses (Case No. 2017-0387).
The Eighth District granted summary judgment for the judge in both mandamus actions, concluding Cowan failed to show direct disobedience of the appellate mandate in the first case and that the allied-offense claims were barred by res judicata in the second.
The Ohio Supreme Court consolidated the appeals and affirmed both appellate-court judgments.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court disobeyed the Cowan II mandate to conduct a de novo resentencing	Cowan: trial court failed to hold the required de novo sentencing hearing on remand	Judge Gallagher: trial court attempted to comply; any remaining errors (e.g., postrelease control advisement) do not show direct disobedience	Court: No direct disobedience shown; mandamus inappropriate; claim largely previously addressed (res judicata)
Whether Cowan’s convictions are void because the trial court failed to merge allied offenses	Cowan: trial court disregarded State’s election to merge and imposed separate sentences, rendering sentences void	Judge Gallagher: allied-offense challenge already litigated on direct appeal and application to reopen; Williams limits when a sentence is void	Court: Allied-offense claim barred by res judicata; Williams does not make these convictions void here
Whether mandamus is the appropriate remedy to enforce an appellate mandate	Cowan: mandamus should compel compliance with appellate remand	Judge Gallagher: mandamus reserved for extreme, direct disobedience; ordinary remedies or prior appeals suffice	Court: Mandamus reserved for extreme cases; not warranted here
Whether the appellate court erred by considering a dismissed charge in allied-offense analysis	Cowan: appellate consideration of a dismissed count improperly affected allied-offense analysis	Judge Gallagher: issue already litigated; even so, such challenges must be raised on direct appeal	Court: Claim is res judicata and not a basis for mandamus

Key Cases Cited

State ex rel. Heck v. Kessler, 72 Ohio St.3d 98 (granting mandamus where trial court directly disobeyed higher-court mandate)
State v. Williams, 148 Ohio St.3d 403 (trial-court action that finds merger then imposes separate sentences can render part of sentence void; otherwise allied-offense errors are subject to res judicata)
State ex rel. Waters v. Spaeth, 131 Ohio St.3d 55 (standard for mandamus: clear right, clear duty, no adequate remedy in law)