Ohio

Supreme Court's Armed Criminal Career Act case

Posted on January 11, 2011
"The Supreme Court has ruled that driving under the influence is not a 'violent felony' for considerations under the federal Armed Criminal Career Act," a National Law Journal article last week began ? "and neither are failure to report to prison or simple battery...

Proposed Ohio Supreme Court Traffic Rules

Posted on January 10, 2011
The Ohio Supreme Court this morning announced that it will be entertaining public comment on proposed amendments to the Ohio Traffic Rules clarifying the authority of traffic violations bureaus (Rule 13) and expanding the required experience of magistrates (Rule 14)...

Ohio consecutive sentencing law

Posted on December 30, 2010
The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Oregon v. Ice, last year, 1).does not revive former Ohio statutory requirements for judges imposing consecutive sentences in criminal cases; and 2) defendants sentenced by trial judges who didn?t apply those former provisions are not entitled to resentencing...

Ohio "Allied Offenses" law

Posted on December 29, 2010
The Supreme Court of Ohio reversed itself today, overruling its 1999 holding in State v. Rance, and now holding that when determining whether two criminal offenses arising out the same conduct are "allied offenses of similar import" that must be merged for sentencing, the state's trial courts must consider the conduct of the accused in each case separately, and not merely compare the elements of

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Ohio gun-control law constitutional

Posted on December 29, 2010
The Ohio Supreme Court this morning upheld a state law on handguns enacted in 2006 that provides that only federal or state regulations can limit an Ohioan's individual right to bear arms, saying ORC § 9.68, which displaces all local gun-control ordinances previously adopted by Ohio municipalities, does not infringe on the "home rule" powers of those municipalities under the Ohio Constitution and

Ohio modification to re-sentencing

Posted on December 28, 2010
Last Thursday the Ohio Supreme Court, modifing its 2007 holding in State v. Bezak, ruled that when a trial court that sentenced a criminal offender prior to July 11, 2006 failed to properly include a statutorily required term of post-release control:The sentence is void, is not precluded by the principle of res judicata from review by an appellate court, and may be reviewed at any time, on direct

Changing roles for Criminal attorneys

Posted on December 23, 2010
The Blog of Legal Times yesterday posted this entry about the "changing role of criminal defense lawyers" in view of the recent Supreme Court case, Padilla v. Kentucky that is imposing new obligations on lawyers to advise clients about the consequences of criminal convictions...

"Redesigning Ohio:" report on transforming government into the 21st. Century

Posted on December 22, 2010
A report released last Monday by the state's largest metropolitan chambers of commerce says "For floundering state and local governments, status quo is no longer an option and it does not mince words about Ohio's dire situation and the need for leaders to muster the political courage to change it," the Columbus Dispatch reported yesterday morning...

Ohio landfill zoning precedent

Posted on December 21, 2010
Ohio's First District Court of Appeals last Friday ruled that Colerain Township-based Rumpke Sanitary Landfill Inc. meets the guidelines set down by the state Supreme Court in 1992 for an entity to qualify as a public utility and is not subject to local zoning laws, enabling it ? pending appeals -- to proceed with a planned $145...

Ohio Human Trafficking Bill

Posted on December 17, 2010
"Ohio doesn't immediately come to mind to most people when the issue of modern-day slavery is raised, but as other parts of the country clamp down on the human traffickers, the Buckeye State has been in danger of becoming a safe haven for them," the Youngstown Vindicator said last Tuesday...

Sixth Circuit e-mail privacy case

Posted on December 16, 2010
The fraud case against Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals might be the beginning of the end of a law that allows government agents to read e-mails without a search warrant., a Cincinnati.com article said yesterday. The 6th. Circuit Court of Appeals here in Cincinnati, last Tuesday, upheld the 2008 criminal conviction of Berkeley's top executive, Steven Warshak, but also cast doubt on the way

Immigration Law Update

Posted on December 14, 2010
A case "involving a question of exceptional national importance: whether state legislatures and municipal governments may override Congress's judgment concerning United States immigration policy," as was described by the petitioning U.S. Department of Commerce, has been accepted to be heard by the Supreme Court...

Ohio Supreme Court disciplinary measure amendments

Posted on December 14, 2010
The Ohio Supreme Court adopted changes to the state's disciplinary rules & procedures governing hearings & complaints before the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline it announced yesterday. They will become effective Jan. 1, 2011. (See amendments ) The Court is also currently seeking public comment on proposed amendments that would allow suspended attorneys, in limited circumstances

Foreign law inclusion

Posted on December 10, 2010
Oklahoma overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment last Election Day barring judges from considering Islamic or international law in Oklahoma state courts. Now, a USAToday article reported yesterday, Muneer Awad, a recent University of Georgia law school graduate born in Michigan, who claims he's standing up for the U...

More EPA news

Posted on December 10, 2010
Adding to & side-baring our post about the Supreme Court's accepting certiorari for the global warming/ environmental protection case, American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, we see in the New York Times this morning that "the Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations ? new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers ? as it adjusts to a

U.S. Supreme Court's global warming/ climate 'nuisance' case

Posted on December 09, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari earlier this week in two cases ? Wal-Mart v. Dukes and American Electric Power v. Connecticut ? both of which involve corporate interests and have generated headlines and significant coverage, as ScotusBlog put it...

Ohio gun control legislation

Posted on December 09, 2010
The Toledo Blade yesterday morning said "Gun-rights supporters maneuvered in the Ohio House Tuesday to force votes on bills allowing concealed-carry permit-holders to carry guns into bars and alcohol-serving restaurants and easing other restrictions on permits...

"Red Flag" legislation update

Posted on December 09, 2010
The Blog of Legal Times Tuesday morning reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had given final congressional approval to a bill designed to exempt lawyers and some other professionals from new regulations to prevent identity theft.Senate Bill 3987 summary

Ohio Death Penalty update

Posted on December 08, 2010
On March 7, 2009, Anthony Kirkland attacked, beat, attempted to rape, robbed and strangled 13 year old Esme Kenney to death and then partially burned her body. Kirkland was apprehended shortly later at the crime scene with property belonging to the victim; there was also a match of the victim's DNA on Kirkland...

Ohio Juvenile Center follow-up

Posted on December 08, 2010
In following up on yesterday's post about Washington County's Marietta Juvenile Detention Center, Washington County Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Williams defended the center's staff and policies and said the court's top priority was ensuring the safety, health and rehabilitation of children in the system, but conceded saying that the center and attorneys suing on behalf of eight prisoners were

Inhumane treatment alleged at Ohio juvenile center

Posted on December 07, 2010
USAToday.com this morning reported that "Inmates at an Ohio juvenile detention center are regularly locked up for 23 hours a day, denied running water and medical treatment and endure harsh punishment, including cleaning a gymnasium with toothbrushes, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday...

Ohio Supreme Court rejects lethal injection challenge

Posted on December 07, 2010
The Jurist,, a Web-based legal news and real-time legal research service created in 1996 by University of Pittsburgh law professor Bernard Hibbitts as a clearinghouse of online legal materials authored by other law professors, eventually evolving to bridge the gap between the legal academy and the public, last week reported the Ohio Supreme Court?s rejecting of another challenge to the state's

Another Ohio taser case

Posted on December 03, 2010
"The use of tasers has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years in Cincinnati and other cities because of questions about their safety and their proper use," a Cincinnat Enquirer article this morning began. Last Wednesday we reported a taser case in Columbus in which a suspect had been seriously injured while trying to escape police over a fence and when tasered...

WikiLeak legislation

Posted on December 03, 2010
WikiLeaks, online since 2006, has hardly been a household name and, as CNN?s news blog said yesterday morning, "doesn't look like it would stir incredible worldwide controversy. But that's what the whistleblower website has done since this summer, and most recently over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend when it published part of what it says is a cache of more than a quarter-million U...

ABA, FTC, "red flag rules" & U.S. Senate bill

Posted on December 02, 2010
The Blog of Legal Times yesterday reported, that "the American Bar Association has been battling for more than a year with the Federal Trade Commission to exempt lawyers, especially, from new regulations designed to fight identity theft. Now, Congress has decided to step in...

Ohio Attorneys CLE Requirement

Posted on December 02, 2010
The Ohio Supreme Court's administrative office reminds attorneys with last names beginning with the letters M through Z that they need to complete their Continuing Legal Education (CLE) hour requirements by Dec. 31. Practicing attorneys in the State of Ohio are required to complete 24 CLE hours, including one hour of instruction on ethics, one hour of instruction on professionalism, and a

Ohio Supreme Court criminal cases

Posted on December 01, 2010
In a 5-1 majority opinion written by Justice Robert R. Cupp this morning, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that an plea-bargaining agreement between a Lake County man and local prosecutors in which the defendant entered a guilty plea of aggravated vehicular assault, and the state agreed to drop two criminal specifications and continue the defendant's bond, constituted a "negotiated guilty plea"

Ohio taser use suit

Posted on December 01, 2010
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a suspect attempting to elude police officers was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Columbus against the Columbus suburb of Perry Township, its board of trustees and a township police officer. (Complaint) The suspect was scaling a fence last August attempting to escape police when he was tasered on the fence and fell head first on to the concrete, receiving

News Updates by Practice Area

Posted on November 29, 2010
Have you signed up for the news updates by practice area that we prepare every couple of weeks for our subscribers? See your current choices for emailed news at http://www.hamilton-co.org/cinlawlib/interact/list.html by clicking Manage Your Subscription...

Ohio Supreme Court denies newspaper attorney fees in public records case

Posted on November 24, 2010
The Ohio Supreme Court today upheld the 1st District Court of Appeals in denying an award of attorney fees to the Cincinnati Enquirer for legal costs the paper had incurred in pursuing a public records lawsuit against the Cincinnati Public School district...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.