On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, David A. Nixon filed a complaint for a writ of prohibition in the Ohio Supreme Court against Judges Mary Jane Trapp, Eugene Lucci, and Matt Lynch of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals. Nixon’s complaint alleges that the appellate court exceeded its jurisdiction by assuming subject-matter jurisdiction over his direct appeal without a valid final appealable order.
According to the complaint, the case originates from Portage County Common Pleas Court Case No. 2022 CR 00534, where Nixon was initially indicted on May 12, 2022, on three counts: having a weapon under disability (F3), aggravated burglary (F1), and grand theft (F3). He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
On July 11, 2022, a new indictment was issued for aggravated burglary (F1) with a one-year firearm specification. Nixon then filed a written plea of once in jeopardy. Subsequently, on October 13, 2022, the state re-represented the aggravated burglary (F1) count to a new grand jury term, which secured a new indictment for burglary (F2). Nixon’s counsel refused to enter an oral plea, and a written plea of once in jeopardy was filed. The court entered a not guilty plea on Nixon’s behalf, despite objections.
The complaint states that the original aggravated burglary count from May 12, 2022, the second aggravated burglary with firearm specification count from July 11, 2022, and the third burglary count from October 13, 2022, were all filed under the same case number as count two of the indictment. Nixon was arraigned three times on these multiple count-two indictments.
The case proceeded to a jury trial on October 25, 2022. The state and trial court treated the May 12 and July 11 aggravated burglary counts as formally dismissed and proceeded on the October 13 burglary count. On December 27, 2022, Nixon was found guilty of having a weapon under disability (F3), burglary (F2), and grand theft (F3).
Nixon filed a timely notice of appeal in the Eleventh District Court of Appeals on January 10, 2023, appealing the trial court’s order and journal entry of December 14 and 16, 2022. The Eleventh District affirmed the trial court’s judgment on December 29, 2023.
The central issue of Nixon’s complaint is the trial court’s alleged failure to properly dispose of the original May 12, 2022, aggravated burglary count and the July 11, 2022, aggravated burglary with firearm specification count via journal entry. Nixon argues that these “hanging charges” prevent a final, appealable order, depriving the appellate court of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Nixon cites several cases in support of his claim that “hanging charges” prevent a trial court from issuing a final, appealable order, including State v. Nesbitt, State v. Gutierrez, and State v. Jackson. He argues that the trial court was required to resolve all three separately indicted charges before issuing a final and appealable order.
Nixon seeks a writ of prohibition from the Ohio Supreme Court to correct the alleged unauthorized exercise of judicial power by the Eleventh District Court of Appeals. He also seeks an alternative writ directing the respondents to remand the matter to the trial court for the issuance of a final, appealable order.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
