On Monday, April 27, 2026, Brian J. Downey filed a notice of appeal in the Supreme Court of Ohio. Downey, acting as his own attorney (Pro-Se), is appealing a decision from the Hancock County Court of Appeals, 3rd Appellate District, case number 5-26-02.
The underlying case involves an appeal of right from an original action initially filed with the court of appeals, pertaining to a felony. Downey is an inmate at Marion Correctional Institution.
The Hancock County Court of Appeals dismissed Downey’s complaint for a writ of prohibition on March 27, 2026. The judgment entry was journalized by the Hancock County Clerk of Courts on April 1, 2026. The court’s decision, penned by the judges, ordered that Downey’s complaint for a writ of prohibition be dismissed, with costs assessed to Downey.
Downey’s original action sought a writ of prohibition against Judge Joseph Niemeyer of the Hancock County Common Pleas Court. The case stems from a 1994 judgment entry of conviction and sentence in Case No. 93-42-CR, under which Downey remains incarcerated. Downey argues that Judge Niemeyer lacked jurisdiction in the 1994 case because “no valid grand jury indictment was ever returned as required by Article 1, § 10 of the Ohio Constitution and Crim.R. 6(F).”
The Court of Appeals found that Downey’s prohibition complaint lacked merit because alleged defects in an indictment do not deprive a trial court of jurisdiction, and that Downey had an adequate remedy via appeal. The court cited several cases in support of its decision, including State ex rel. Jones v. Garfield Hts. Mun. Court, State ex rel. Williams v. Trim, State ex rel. Martre v. Watson, and State ex rel. Sands v. Bunting.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
