State ex rel. Nichols v. Eppinger (Slip Opinion), 147 Ohio St. 3d 349

BreShaun Nichols was convicted by a jury in 2009 of attempted murder and related offenses; the trial court sentenced him to ten years for attempted murder to be served consecutively with other sentences.
Nichols exhausted direct appeal and postconviction relief in the Ohio courts before filing a habeas corpus petition in the Ninth District.
In the habeas petition Nichols argued he had been convicted of attempted felony murder, and after State v. Nolan holdings that attempted felony murder is not a crime, he claimed the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.
The Ninth District dismissed the habeas petition; the Ohio Supreme Court reviewed that dismissal.
The Supreme Court held Nichols failed to allege a jurisdictional defect because Nolan treated the issue as trial-court error, not lack of jurisdiction, and therefore habeas relief was unavailable while Nichols remains serving his sentence.
The Court also rejected Nichols’s substantive contention: the record shows he acted with the intent to kill (pulled a trigger with gun against victim’s head), so he was properly convicted of attempted murder, not the non-crime of attempted felony murder.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because attempted felony murder is not a crime post-Nolan	Nichols: conviction included attempted felony murder; Nolan means such convictions are void for lack of jurisdiction	State: Nolan recognized error in conviction, not absence of jurisdiction; the trial court had jurisdiction over the criminal case	Dismissal affirmed — petitioner did not allege jurisdictional defect; habeas relief unavailable while sentence continues
Whether Nichols’s conviction is void on the merits under Nolan	Nichols: his conviction encompassed attempted felony murder which Nolan prohibits	State: evidence shows Nichols acted purposely/knowingly (pulled trigger at victim), so conviction is for attempted murder, which remains a crime	Court: substance confirms intent to kill; conviction stands as attempted murder, Nolan inapplicable

State v. Nolan, 141 Ohio St.3d 454 (Ohio 2014) (held attempted felony murder is not a cognizable offense because attempt requires purpose or knowledge while felony murder can be strict liability)
Pence v. Bunting, 143 Ohio St.3d 532 (Ohio 2015) (habeas relief is unavailable where petitioner remains serving a valid sentence and no jurisdictional defect is properly alleged)