State ex rel. Bates v. Court of Appeals
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Anthony Belton was charged with aggravated murder with death-penalty specifications and aggravated robbery with firearm specifications. Belton filed a motion challenging the constitutionality of Ohio Rev. Code 2929.03 and Ohio R. Crim. P. 11(C)(3), claiming these provisions were unconstitutional because they precluded him from entering a guilty plea without waiving his right to a jury trial during the sentencing phase of his capital case. The common pleas court denied the motion and upheld the provisions as constitutional. Belton later filed a motion for leave to file a delayed appeal from the common pleas court's order. The court of appeals granted the motion. The State subsequently filed an action for a writ of prohibition to prevent the court of appeals from proceeding in Belton's delayed appeal and to compel dismissal of the appeal. The Supreme Court granted the writ, holding that the court of appeals patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the appeal when the order did not constitute a final, appealable order.
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