{¶ 1} On August 4, 1976, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas convicted appellee Donald Rust of rape and sentenced him to a prison term of 5 to 25 yeаrs. On August 16, 1976, the Ashland County Court of Common Pleas Court convicted Rust of rape, escape, and grand theft and sentenced him to an aggregate prison term of 8 to 30 years. The Franklin County and Ashland County sentences were ordered to be served concurrently by the Franklin County court.
{¶ 2} In May 1982, Rust was pаroled, and in June 1983, he was declared a parole violator. On October 14, 1983, appellee Judge James D. Henson of the Richland County Court of Common Pleas convicted Rust of rape and sentenced him to a prison term of 4 to 25 years. Under the then existing version of R.C. 2929.41(B)(3), 140 Ohio Laws, Part I, 599, his new sentence was consecutive to the sentences reinstated for his parole violation, resulting in an aggregate prison term of 12 tо 55 years. The expiration of Rust’s maximum aggregate sentence was September 11, 2030.
{¶ 3} On June 8, 2001, Judge Henson issued a nunc pro tunc entry modifying Rust’s 1983 sentencе to be served concurrently with his other sentences and giving Rust credit for time served from June 18, 1983, until the date of the entry. Judge Henson expressly stated thаt this decrease in Rust’s aggregate sentence was necessitated by a change in policy of the Ohio Adult Parole Authority:
{¶ 4} “When this Court and this Judge originally sentenced the defendant on October 11, 1983, it was this Court’s intention that the defendant serve between twelve (12) and fifteen (15) years in prison for thе three separate cases for which he pled guilty. Given the rules and regulations of the Adult Parole Authority and their policies at the time the defendant was sentenced, this Court felt that a Jp-25 year sentence consecutive to those of Ashland and Franklin Counties would accomplish that purpose.
{¶ 5} “However, due to a change in policy of the Adult Parole Authority in giving inmates superflop apparently for its mm purposes, the intent of the Court in its original sentence is being subverted.
{¶ 7} Under Judge Henson’s nunc pro tunc entry, the current maximum sentence expiration for Rust is June 11, 2002, instead of September 11, 2030.
{¶ 8} On March 19, 2002, appellant, Richland County Prosecuting Attorney James J. Mayer Jr., filed a complaint in the Court of Appeаls for Richland County for a writ of mandamus or a writ of prohibition compelling Judge Henson to vacate his June 8, 2001 nunc pro tunc entry and reinstate Rust’s vаlid 1983 consecutive sentence. Mayer also sought to prohibit Judge Henson from exercising further jurisdiction to enforce the nunc pro tunc еntry or taking other unauthorized action regarding Rust’s sentence. In his complaint, Mayer specifically alleged that Judge Henson patently аnd unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to issue the nunc pro tunc entry modifying Rust’s October 14, 1983 sentence and that his actions violated the separation-of-powers doctrine.
{¶ 9} On March 27, 2002, the court of appeals sua sponte dismissed the complaint because “relator had an adequate remedy by way of a[n] appeal for the matters raised through this extraordinary original action.”
{¶ 10} In his appeal as of right, Mayer аsserts that the court of appeals erred in dismissing sua sponte his complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition.
{¶ 11} “Sua sponte dismissal without notice is appropriate only if the complaint is frivolous or the claimant obviously cannot prevail on the facts alleged in the complaint.” McAuley v. Smith (1998),
{¶ 12} Mayer alleged in his complaint that Judge Henson patеntly and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to issue his nunc pro tunc entry and modify Rust’s October 14, 1983 sentence. If a lower court patently and unambiguously lacks jurisdiсtion to proceed in a cause, prohibition and mandamus will issue to prevent any future unauthorized exercise of jurisdiction and to correct the results of prior jurisdictionally unauthorized actions. State ex rel. Dannaher v. Crawford (1997),
{¶ 14} First, nunc pro tunc entries “аre limited in proper use to reflecting what the court actually decided, not what the court might or should have decided or what the cоurt intended to decide.” State ex rel. Fogle v. Steiner (1995),
{¶ 15} Second, Judge Henson admits in his nunc pro tunc entry that in 1983, he ordered Rust to serve his rape conviction consecutively to his other sentences. This was required by the existing version of R.C. 2929.41(B)(3). 140 Ohio Laws, Part 1, 599.
{¶ 16} Third, the action of Judge Hensоn to reduce his previous valid criminal sentence was a nullity, which may entitle Mayer to the requested extraordinary relief. Cf. Mun. Court of Toledo v. State ex rel. Platter (1933),
{¶ 17} Based on the foregoing, the court of appeals’ rationale that dismissal was warranted because of the availability of an adequate remedy by appeal to raise these claims is erroneous. “[A]ppeal is immaterial in prоhibition and mandamus actions where the court patently and unambiguously lacks jurisdiction to act.” State ex rel. Willacy v. Smith (1997),
{¶ 18} Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the cause for further proceedings. Fogle,
Judgment reversed and cause remanded.
Notes
. Rust filed a brief, but Judge Henson, whose brief was due on September 3, 2002, did not file one.
. We also deny Rust’s motion to strike appellant’s reply brief.