Smith v. Mitchell

Smith asserts that the court of appeals erred by dismissing his petition. Smith’s assertion, however, is meritless for the following reasons.

First, Smith’s claims of erroneous jury instructions and verdict forms could have been raised in his direct appeal from his criminal convictions and sentences; habeas corpus is not available to raise these claims. Smith v. Seidner (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 172, 173, 677 N.E.2d 336, 336-337. Second, Smith’s claim that his trial court erred by failing to appoint appellate counsel for him did not prejudice him because he had counsel for his direct appeal. State…