State ex rel. Kerr v. Pollex (Slip Opinion), 2020 Ohio 411

Jeremy Kerr was convicted in June 2013 in the Wood County Court of Common Pleas of four counts of forgery and four counts of tampering with evidence and sentenced to an aggregate 92 months in prison.
The Sixth District Court of Appeals affirmed Kerr’s convictions and sentence on direct appeal.
In January 2019 Kerr filed a petition for a writ of prohibition in the Sixth District against Judge Robert Pollex and Judge Matthew Reger seeking vacatur of his convictions, alleging improper admission of evidence, improper venue, insufficient evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct.
The Sixth District dismissed Kerr’s petition sua sponte, concluding the trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction, Kerr’s direct appeal was an adequate remedy at law, and his claims were barred by res judicata.
Kerr appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which affirmed the appellate court’s dismissal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the common pleas court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to convict Kerr	Kerr argued jurisdictional defects (venue, admission of evidence, sufficiency) render the convictions void	Trial court had statutory jurisdiction under R.C. 2931.03; no patent and unambiguous lack of jurisdiction shown	Court held the common pleas court had basic statutory jurisdiction; no basis to vacate final judgment
Whether Kerr lacked an adequate remedy at law	Kerr claimed prohibition was appropriate to vacate his final conviction	State argued Kerr’s direct appeal was an adequate remedy to challenge trial errors	Court held the direct appeal was an adequate remedy; prohibition was not appropriate
Whether Kerr’s claims were barred by res judicata	Kerr sought to relitigate issues raised or that could have been raised on direct appeal	State argued relitigation barred by res judicata because issues were or could have been raised earlier	Court held claims were barred by res judicata

State ex rel. Scott v. Cleveland, 859 N.E.2d 923 (Ohio 2006) (standard for sua sponte dismissal when petition frivolous or claimant cannot prevail)
State ex rel. Sliwinski v. Burnham Unruh, 886 N.E.2d 201 (Ohio 2008) (requirements for prohibition writ: judicial power without authority and lack of adequate remedy)
State ex rel. Mayer v. Henson, 779 N.E.2d 223 (Ohio 2002) (final-judgment vacatur via prohibition requires patent and unambiguous lack of jurisdiction)
State ex rel. Adams v. Gusweiler, 285 N.E.2d 22 (Ohio 1972) (trial court with basic statutory jurisdiction deprives relator of prohibition relief)
State ex rel. Plant v. Cosgrove, 893 N.E.2d 485 (Ohio 2008) (appeal is an adequate remedy to contest a court’s jurisdiction absent a patent defect)
State ex rel. Robinson v. Huron Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 34 N.E.3d 903 (Ohio 2015) (res judicata bars claims that were or could have been raised on direct appeal)