State ex rel. Steele v. Foley (Slip Opinion), 2021 Ohio 2073

In 2006 Steele was indicted in two separate indictments for related sexual offenses; during trial the state moved to dismiss the first indictment.
Steele pleaded guilty to five counts of gross sexual imposition and received an aggregate 15-year prison term.
In August 2020 Steele filed a habeas corpus petition in the Ninth District, arguing the dismissal of the first indictment barred trying duplicative counts without a new indictment.
The court of appeals dismissed the petition for failure to attach the affidavit required by R.C. 2969.25(A) listing civil actions filed in the prior five years; Steele’s motion for reconsideration was denied.
Steele appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which reviewed the dismissal de novo and found Steele’s affidavit inadequate because it omitted parties, courts, case numbers, and outcomes.
The court rejected Steele’s undeveloped contention that constitutional issues should excuse statutory noncompliance and affirmed the dismissal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether noncompliance with R.C. 2969.25(A) requires dismissal of a habeas petition	Steele did not dispute noncompliance but proceeded with merits; implicit argument that petition should be considered	Foley: strict compliance required; failure to attach proper affidavit mandates dismissal	Court: Strict compliance with R.C. 2969.25(A) is mandatory; noncompliance is fatal and supports dismissal
Whether constitutional claims excuse failure to comply with R.C. 2969.25(A)	Steele argued his constitutional claims outweigh procedural default	Foley: statutory requirement cannot be excused by asserted constitutional issues absent authority	Court: Unraised and undeveloped; no basis to excuse noncompliance for constitutional claims; dismissal affirmed

State ex rel. Dixon v. Bowerman, 156 Ohio St.3d 317 (2019) (affidavit listing civil actions required under R.C. 2969.25(A))
State ex rel. Swanson v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 156 Ohio St.3d 408 (2019) (R.C. 2969.25(A) requires strict compliance)
State ex rel. White v. Bechtel, 99 Ohio St.3d 11 (2003) (noncompliance with affidavit requirement is grounds for dismissal)
State ex rel. Ware v. Walsh, 159 Ohio St.3d 120 (2020) (omission of required affidavit details requires dismissal)
State ex rel. Russell v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 161 Ohio St.3d 312 (2020) (affirming dismissal for inadequate R.C. 2969.25(A) affidavit)
State ex rel. Steele v. Eppinger, 147 Ohio St.3d 404 (2016) (listed by relator in affidavit)
State ex rel. Steele v. McClelland, 154 Ohio St.3d 574 (2018) (listed by relator in affidavit)