Is Dismissal of Indictment Without Prejudice a ‘Final’ Order Subject to Immediate Appeal?
State of Ohio v. Norman A. Craig, Case no. 2006-1568 8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County) Is any trial court order dismissing a criminal indictment a “final, appealable order” that the state may immediately appeal regardless of whether the dismissal is with or without prejudice? BACKGROUND: Under Ohio law and procedural rules, a trial court may dismiss a pending criminal charge or civil complaint in one of two ways: “with prejudice,” meaning that the party that initiated the dismissed matter is permanently barred from initiating a new court action reasserting that charge or claim; and “without prejudice,” meaning that the initiating party is free to file a new court action reasserting the dismissed charge or civil complaint. In this case, a Cleveland trial court judge dismissed a felony indictment against Norman Craig for the alleged rape of a child when the prosecutor, after failing to obtain the judge’s agreement to recuse herself from the case earlier on the trial date, h
