State ex rel. Mango v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr.

2021 Ohio 1314
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 15, 2021
Docket18AP-945
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2021 Ohio 1314 (State ex rel. Mango v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Mango v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 2021 Ohio 1314 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

[Cite as State ex rel. Mango v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 2021-Ohio-1314.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO

TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

State ex rel. Raymond Mango, :

Relator, :

v. : No. 18AP-945

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation : (REGULAR CALENDAR) and Correction, : Respondent. :

D E C I S I O N

Rendered on April 15, 2021

On brief: Raymond Mango, pro se.

On brief: Dave Yost, Attorney General, and Zachary S. O'Driscoll, for respondent.

IN MANDAMUS ON OBJECTIONS TO THE MAGISTRATE'S DECISION

DORRIAN, P.J. {¶ 1} In this original action, relator, Raymond Mango, requests a writ of mandamus ordering respondent, Ohio Adult Parole Revocation Hearing Committee, a subdivision of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, to reinstate his parole or grant him a new revocation hearing with counsel and his witness present. {¶ 2} This is the second time a panel of this court has considered this original action. In State ex rel. Mango v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab & Corr., 10th Dist. No. 18AP-945, 2019-Ohio-4774, this court sustained relator's objections to the magistrate's decision to No. 18AP-945 2

grant respondent's motion to dismiss, and remanded the matter to the magistrate for further proceedings consistent with law. {¶ 3} Pursuant to Civ.R. 53 and Loc.R. 13(M) of the Tenth District Court of Appeals, this matter was referred to a magistrate who issued a decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, which is appended hereto. The magistrate recommended this court deny relator's complaint for writ of mandamus. {¶ 4} Relator has asserted four objections which we summarize here: (1) relator asserts the magistrate erred in dismissing the action in part because relator should have filed a writ of habeas corpus, (2) relator asserts it was vital to have witnesses Jarret and Reid present to testify on his behalf at the revocation hearing and there is no sound legal reasoning that the defense, after reviewing their affidavits, would not put their testimony before the hearing officer for a determination of the charges against relator, (3) relator asserts his defense counsel failed to fulfill his adversarial duty at the hearing, and (4) relator asserts there is no substantial evidence to support the revocation committee's findings that Mango did in fact violate the conditions of his parole as listed in Rule 1 and Rule 8 and, therefore, there is insufficient evidence to revoke his parole. {¶ 5} In his first objection, relator asserts the magistrate erred in dismissing the original action in part because habeas corpus, not mandamus, is the only action by which immediate release from prison can be accomplished. In State ex rel. Johnson v. Ohio Parole Bd., 80 Ohio St.3d 140, 141 (1997), the Supreme Court of Ohio stated: [Relator] asserts in his various propositions of law that the court of appeals erred in denying the writ of mandamus because appellees did not comply with the minimum due process requirements of Morrissey v. Brewer (1972), 408 U.S. 471, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484, when they revoked his parole. Even if [relator's] assertions are correct, he would not be entitled to reversal of the court of appeals' judgment for the following reasons.

[Relator] is not entitled to the requested writ of mandamus for release from prison and reinstatement on parole. Habeas corpus, rather than mandamus, is the appropriate action for persons claiming entitlement to immediate release from prison. State ex rel. Lemmon v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 186, 188, 677 N.E.2d 347, 349; State ex rel. Pirman v. Money (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 591, 594, 635 N.E.2d 26, 30. As the court noted in Lemmon, 78 Ohio St.3d at 188, No. 18AP-945 3

677 N.E.2d at 349, "[a] contrary holding would permit inmates seeking immediate release from prison to employ mandamus to circumvent the statutory pleading requirements for instituting a habeas corpus action, i.e., attachment of commitment papers and verification."

{¶ 6} In his complaint, relator seeks two forms of relief, that: (1) his parole be reinstated, and (2) he be granted a new revocation hearing with appointed counsel and requested witnesses present. To the extent relator seeks his parole be reinstated, we agree with the magistrate that pursuant to Johnson habeas corpus is the appropriate action for relator to pursue. Accordingly, we overrule relator's first objection. {¶ 7} In his second objection, relator argues his due process rights were violated as Jarrett and Reid were not present to testify on his behalf at the hearing. Relator made this same argument in his complaint and in his objections before us in Mango. In Mango, we remanded this action to the magistrate to review the record and address relator's claim that he was not provided the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses because Jarrett was not subpoenaed. On remand, the magistrate reviewed the record and determined that relator's right to present witnesses and confront adverse witnesses was not violated in this case. The record confirms the magistrate's recitation of the evidence. It contains a subpoena issued by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority ("OAPA") addressed to Jarrett which indicates it was hand-delivered to Jarrett on April 23, 2018. The audio recording from the hearing reveals that, at the beginning of the hearing, the hearing officer inquired whether relator requested any witnesses. The recording is difficult to hear at this point, and the response is not audible. However, the hearing officer immediately followed up and asked if relator accepts the representations of his counsel, and relator responded he did. Neither relator nor his counsel objected or said anything further indicating that they requested any witnesses. In the record, there is an OAPA form titled "II. Request for Witnesses," an "X" is placed in a box next to the statement "I DO NOT request the presence of any witnesses/documents at my release violation hearing." (Emphasis sic.) (Respondent's Evid. at 11.) The form is signed by relator on April 11, 2018. Finally, the audio recording reveals that, at the end of the hearing, relator's counsel explained to the court that it decided not to seek a continuance to secure Jarrett's appearance after she did not appear in response to respondent's subpoena. Relator's counsel also argued several times during the hearing that Jarrett would No. 18AP-945 4

be an inconsistent and contradictory witness. For the reasons outlined by the magistrate and based on our review of the record and law, we agree with the magistrate. Accordingly, we overrule relator's second objection. {¶ 8} In his third objection, relator argues his counsel at the revocation hearing was ineffective. Relator made this same argument in his complaint. On remand, the magistrate reviewed the record and discussed the same in the context of discussing whether relator's right to present witnesses and confront adverse witnesses was violated. Ohio Adm.Code 5120:1-1-18(A)(5) states: With respect to the hearing, the releasee has the following rights:

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(e) The right to representation by counsel if the parole board member or hearing officer finds that the charges and/or the evidence to be presented are complex or otherwise difficult for the releasee to present. If the releasee cannot afford to retain counsel, assistance, upon request, will be provided by the office of the state public defender.

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Related

State ex rel. Cartwright v. Ohio Adult Parole Bd.
2022 Ohio 2934 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
State ex rel. Mango v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr.
2022 Ohio 1559 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2022)

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Bluebook (online)
2021 Ohio 1314, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-mango-v-ohio-dept-of-rehab-corr-ohioctapp-2021.