State ex rel. Cowell v. Croce (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 2844

In 2011, Joshua R. Cowell pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, felonious assault, rape, and kidnapping.
The trial court imposed separate prison terms for each count and ordered them served consecutively, totaling 25 years.
Cowell did not appeal his convictions or sentence after sentencing.
In October 2018 Cowell filed an original action for a writ of mandamus in the Ninth District Court of Appeals seeking: vacatur of his sentences, merger of allied offenses, and resentencing.
The court of appeals dismissed the mandamus complaint, finding Cowell had an adequate remedy at law by appeal. Cowell appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed, holding mandamus was not appropriate because the claims could have been raised by direct appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether mandamus can compel merger of allied offenses after sentencing	Cowell: some offenses were allied and should have been merged; trial court erred by not merging	Croce: Cowell has an adequate remedy by direct appeal; trial court made findings that offenses were separate	Court: Mandamus unavailable; alleged allied-offense error must be raised on direct appeal and is barred by res judicata if not appealed
Whether mandamus can compel resentencing for lack of statutory findings for consecutive terms	Cowell: trial court failed to make required statutory findings for consecutive sentences	Croce: Cowell had remedy by direct appeal; sentencing claims are generally remediable on appeal	Court: Mandamus unavailable; consecutive-sentence claims are generally remedied by direct appeal

State ex rel. Waters v. Spaeth, 131 Ohio St.3d 55, 960 N.E.2d 452 (2012) (elements for mandamus relief)
State ex rel. Ridenour v. O’Connell, 147 Ohio St.3d 351, 65 N.E.3d 742 (2016) (sentencing errors generally remediable by direct appeal)
State ex rel. Cowan v. Gallagher, 153 Ohio St.3d 13, 100 N.E.3d 407 (2018) (failure to merge must be raised on timely appeal)
State v. Williams, 148 Ohio St.3d 403, 71 N.E.3d 234 (2016) (discussing merger and res judicata for sentencing findings)