Ohio

Ohio death penalty update (March 2011)

Posted on March 21, 2011
The death penalty & related subjects have been back in the news a lot again. We presented a review of sorts back in January which this now expands on. Illinois abolished capital punishment back on March 9th., with the sentences of all 15 inmates on death row there being commuted to life in prison effective as of that date...

You and the Legal System: Landlord Tenant Issues

Posted on March 14, 2011
The Hamilton County Law Library, in conjunction with the Cincinnati Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service, will present You and the Legal System: Landlord/Tenant Issues on Friday, March 18, 2011 at 12:00 noon at the Law Library.We?re pleased to announce that Ivan Tamarkin, a Cincinnati attorney practicing primarily in real estate law and employment law, will be the speaker...

Ohio death penalty protocol

Posted on March 11, 2011
Johnnie Baston became the second inmate executed by the State of Ohio this year, but the first using another new state procedure, and put death with a single injection of the sedative pentobarbital -- that first also being the first time the drug has been used in a U...

Illinois abolishes death penalty

Posted on March 09, 2011
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has abolished the death penalty in that state, immediately commuting the sentences of all 15 inmates on death row there. Illinois now joins 15 other states that have done away with the death penalty. Former Gov. George Ryan had imposed a moratorium on executions in 2000 after the death sentences of 13 men were overturned, also clearing death row before leaving office in

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DNA evidence suits OKd under Federal civil rights

Posted on March 08, 2011
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that prisoners can file federal civil-rights lawsuits seeking DNA testing of crime-scene evidence, a decision that gives inmates a new legal pathway to seek exoneration through scientific evidence, the Wall Street Journal yesterday reported...

Kentucky drug rehab law

Posted on March 07, 2011
The Wall Street Journal last Friday noted Kentucky's becoming the latest among a growing number of states renouncing "some of the long prison sentences that have been a hallmark of the war on drugs and instead focusing on treatment, which once-skeptical lawmakers now say is proven to be less expensive and more effective...

Kentucky adopts statewide rules for family law cases

Posted on March 02, 2011
The Supreme Court of Kentucky last month announced that it had for the first time adopted uniform rules for family law cases statewide, effective Jan. 1st. The Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice apply to all family law cases, handled by Family Court judges in 71 Kentucky counties and by circuit and district judges in the 49 other counties without a Family Court...

Ohio sets four more execution dates

Posted on March 02, 2011
Execution dates for four Ohio inmates were announced yesterday:Reginald Brooks, case 1985-1616 on Tuesday, November 15, 2011Charles Lorraine, case 1990-1927 on Wednesday, January, 18, 2012Michael Webb, case 1993-1374 on Wednesday, February 22, 2012Brett Hartman, case 1998-1475 on Tuesday, August 16, 2011Hartman had asked that Chief Justice Maureen O?Connor remove herself from the case because she

New Ohio Supreme Court probate forms

Posted on March 01, 2011
The Supreme Court of Ohio announced yesterday that it will be accepting public comment on proposed new and revised probate court forms addressing personal identifier concerns, wrongful death and survival claim settlements, and petitioner's accounts until March 29, 2011...

Federal Judges' Pocket Guide on Sealed Cases

Posted on March 01, 2011
The Federal Judicial Center has published a pocket guide for federal judges focusing on the occasional need to seal court records and proceedings. "The public in general, and news media in particular, have a qualified right of access to court proceedings and records rooted in the common law," the Guide states, "But on occasion there are good reasons for courts to keep parts of some proceedings

New Ohio Supreme Court attorney specialization

Posted on March 01, 2011
On June 25, 2010, the Ohio Supreme Court's Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists proposed insurance coverage law as a specialty area in Ohio being defined as:that area of law involving issues between insurers and policy holders concerning the rights and responsibilities that arise under insurance policies, including the duty of good faith...

Ohio Supreme Court posts local rules of court

Posted on March 01, 2011
The Ohio Supreme Court last week announced the inclusion of local rules of court from the majority of Ohio's trial courts being posted online on the Court's website. Not all Ohio courts have internet access.Supreme Court Clerk of Court Kristina D. Frost said Rule 5 of the Rules of Superintendence for Ohio Courts, in pertinence here, requires local courts to file copies of their rules with the

Ohio "firearm provision" not separate offense

Posted on February 24, 2011
The Ohio Supreme Court this morning held that the "firearm specification" provision of state law that adds three years to the prison sentence of an offender who uses a firearm in the commission of a felony does not charge the defendant with a separate criminal offense...

Smart on Crime Coalition's criminal reform report

Posted on February 24, 2011
Earlier this month, The Blog of LegalTimes had a posting in which it discussed the Smart on Crime Coalition?s recent report in which it sought to recommend reforms to Congress & the Administration ranging from mandatory recording of police interrogations to ensuring the improvements in indigent defense and eradicating prison rape...

Ohio Ethics Commission opinion

Posted on February 23, 2011
The Ohio Ethics Commission released an opinion this morning respective of situations in which a state department director has a conflict of interest. The Commission stated:Syllabus by the Commission:(1) Division (D) of Section 102.03 of the Revised Code prohibits a director of a state department from participating in any matter before the department that results in a

Ohio legal aid/ public defense

Posted on February 22, 2011
The ideology of fair & speedy trials in this country is age-old and almost inherent in our creed, but almost from the start it also presented a lot of challenges, some of which are still very much with us today. Wikipedia states that, historically, legal aid has its roots in the right to counsel and right to a fair trial movement in 19th Century continental European countries...

Ohio Supreme Court Juvenile Domestic Violence Rule/Forms

Posted on February 18, 2011
Effective last June 17, 2010, Am., Sub. H.B. 10 authorized the juvenile court divisions of Courts of Common Pleas to issue and enforce civil protection orders against juvenile respondents for certain offenses of violence, sexually oriented offenses, and domestic violence...

Ohio Supreme Court Grievance/Disciplinary Opinion

Posted on February 18, 2011
The Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline last week issued an opinion stating: SYLLABUS: It is improper for a plaintiff?s lawyer to personally agree, as a condition of settlement, to indemnify the opposing party from any and all claims by third persons to the settlement funds...

Electronic Discovery Guidance

Posted on February 18, 2011
Law Technology News yesterday morning carried a story about U.S. Southern District of New York Court Judge Shira Scheindlin -- perhaps the most influential jurist in the development of electronic data discovery protocols -- issuing another opinion that has "the EDD community a-flutter," ruling on Feb...

Death Penalty Update

Posted on February 11, 2011
It sounds a gruesome thing to talk about perhaps, but the media's been abound with death penalty news from around the area for the last month or so. We'll try to summarize some of it. The Ohio Supreme Court last week announced execution dates for seven condemned inmates, ending what had been a break in capital punishment scheduling...

Ohio abortion-ban legislation

Posted on February 08, 2011
The Cincinnati Enquirer this morning has an article saying that legislation being introduced at the Statehouse tomorrow banning abortions in Ohio once a fetus' heartbeat is detected is seen by both sides of the abortion issue as a likely test case that could end up in the U...

Ohio Supreme Court "specialized courts" standards

Posted on February 07, 2011
The Ohio Supreme Court announced this morning that it is going to be accepting public comments on a new rule that outlines standards to help guide local courts if they are currently operating or considering starting a specialized court docket until March 1...

Ohio same sex supreme court custody case

Posted on February 03, 2011
Kelly Mullen and her former partner, Michele Hobbs, were in a committed relationship for five years before agreeing to raise a child together. Mullen is the child?s, a girl, biological mother. They consulted a lawyer, but never reached a written agreement, and later split up...

Ohio Probation Study

Posted on February 02, 2011
A report released today by the Council of State Governments' Justice Center recommends Ohio adopt 13 changes to its probation and sentencing laws that could shrink the state's prison population by 4,500 inmates over the next four years and save taxpayers $62 million, the Associate Press reports...

Amended Ohio Rules of Practice & Procedure

Posted on January 25, 2011
Initially published for comment last Oct. 4, proposed amendments concern changes to Ohio's rules of appellate procedure, civil procedure, criminal procedure, juvenile procedure, and rules of evidence have been revised by the Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure and approved for filing by the Supreme Court...

Ohio Supreme Court Interpreters

Posted on January 25, 2011
The Ohio Supreme Court is adopting a new Rule of Superintendence for interpreters which would require courts to hire certified foreign or sign language interpreters to ensure the "meaningful participation" of deaf and limited English proficient individuals in court proceedings...

"Lawyers on both sides of the disputed

Posted on January 21, 2011
"Lawyers on both sides of the disputed election for Hamilton County, Ohio Juvenile Court judge took their case to one of the highest courts in the nation Thursday.," the Cincinnati Enquirer, this morning said. "Their arguments boiled down to a single question: How imperfect can an election be before it violates the U...

How secure are mobile devices?

Posted on January 20, 2011
The arrest Tuesday of two men who succeeded in hacking into AT&T?s iPad 3G protocol last summer, obtaining and presumablydistributing the e-mail addresses of some 114,000 iPad owners, is renewing questions about the vulnerability of mobil internet devices...

Goggle Scholar improvements

Posted on January 20, 2011
The quest for low-cost ? or better yet ? free ? legal research options is right up there on every attorney and researcher's list. Last Tuesday Law.com?s "Legal Blog Watch" noted improvements that had been made to Google's "Scholar" "When Google Scholar was introduced back in late 2009," Blog Watch said, "we noted that 'there's no ignoring a 1,000-pound gorilla...

Ohio's legislative priorities

Posted on January 14, 2011
?Jobs, abortion, estate taxes and health care top the agenda of Ohio House leaders,? the Cincinnati Enquirer said earlier this week of the opening salvo of bill introductions at the commencement of Ohio?s 129th. General Assembly. "House leaders traditionally unveil their top-priority legislation on the first day of the session," the article said...

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