APPEAL Inmate's removal attempt rejected by district court

The man said his constitutional rights were being violated.
WARREN -- A man convicted of attempting to throw illegal drugs over the barbed-wire fence at Trumbull Correctional Institution has failed in a bid to remove a judge from his case.
The 11th District Court of Appeals has dismissed Paul Leroy Brown's action to remove Judge Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. The judge had asked that Brown's action for a writ of mandamus (commanding an official act) be dismissed.
His sentence
Brown, 46, in October was sentenced to 17 months in prison by Judge Logan. Brown was convicted of one count of illegal conveyance of a prohibited item onto the grounds of a detention facility or institution.
Five months after being released from TCI, Brown returned to the prison grounds in January in an attempt to give another inmate illegal drugs, the prosecution said. Brown tried to throw cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana over the fence surrounding the prison.
Brown had told Judge Logan at his sentencing that he is planning to appeal.
In the meantime, Brown argued that he'd sought to have criminal charges dismissed, saying he'd filed multiple motions to suppress certain evidence, all denied without a hearing on the evidence. Brown claimed a violation of his constitutional rights.
Judge Logan, meanwhile, argued that Brown was trying to use his action for a writ of mandamus as a substitute for a direct appeal. Even if any error has occurred in Brown's case, he can seek relief through a direct appeal.
The appeals court agreed: A criminal defendant cannot use a mandamus action to contest a trial judge's evidentiary rulings or speedy trial determinations because such decisions can be challenged in a direct appeal from the conviction.
Further, the appeals court said Brown has not alleged that Judge Logan committed any error that would deprive him of jurisdiction over the criminal case. Instead, Brown has only alleged that certain procedural errors have occurred.