The Court Decisions page of the Ohio Constitution: Law and History guide has been updated with the final cases of 2016 that interpreted constitutional issues. On December 22, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court examined the constitutionality of state statutes requiring the mandatory transfer of juvenile offenders to adult courts, and ultimately ruled the statutes unconstitutional. […]
The Ohio Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in two cases Tuesday, July 12, 2016, and two cases Wednesday, July 13, 2016. Live streaming video is available at this link. On July 12, in the death penalty appeal, State v. Spaulding, Case no. 2013-0536, the defendant raises a number of issues dealing with due process
Ohio Supreme Court: Constitutional Issues Argued in Death Penalty Cases Read Post »
In an opinion issued April 28, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that R.C. 2933.81(B) violates the due process rights of juveniles. The law presumes that a juvenile suspect’s statements made while in police custody are voluntary, if they are electronically recorded. In State v. Barker, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 decision that
Ohio Supreme Court Rules Presumption of Voluntariness Violates Juveniles’ Rights Read Post »
The Ohio Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on April 19th and 20th, 2016. The session is being held at Meigs County High School as part of the Court’s program to hold arguments off-site twice per year. The Off-Site Court Program enables students and community members to watch the Court in action, and helps to
Supreme Court Hearing Due Process Arguments in Two Cases Read Post »
In Hillenmeyer v. Cleveland Bd. of Rev., Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-1623, the Ohio Supreme Court found that: Cleveland’s use of the games-played method violates due process as applied to NFL players such as Hillenmeyer. Under the duty-days method, which provides due process and satisfies Cleveland’s municipal-income-tax ordinance, Hillenmeyer is entitled to a partial refund of
Cleveland’s Jock Tax Violates Due Process, but not Equal Protection Read Post »
In State v. Bode, Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-1519, the Ohio Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision held that a defendant’s juvenile adjudication of delinquency for DUI could not enhance the penalty for a later adult sentence for DUI, when there was no defense counsel at the juvenile adjudication, and there was no waiver of the
The Ohio Supreme Court held that a Lodi zoning ordinance deprives mobile-home park owners of their due process rights under the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions. The ordinance involved mobile parks in areas where current zoning prohibits mobile homes, but the mobile parks existed before the zoning prohibiting them, so they are grandfathered in. This is
Mobile Home Zoning Ordinance Violates Due Process Read Post »
Even with the Ohio Statute prohibiting traffic cameras without a police officer present ( SB 342) and the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling finding administrative appeals of traffic camera tickets constitutional (Walker v. City of Toledo, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-5461. ), there is still plenty of litigation around concerning traffic cameras. For example, in Butler County,
Traffic Camera Litigation Continues: Butler County Case Asserts Due Process Violations Read Post »
The Ohio Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments concerning whether a teenager has a right to attend and participate in a visitation hearing. The teenager moved for such participation, as well as to terminate all visitation. The trial court denied these motions, and awarded unsupervised visitation to the father. In their appeal, A.G.’s attorneys argued
Due Process Violation When Teenager Denied Participation in Father’s Visitation Hearing? Read Post »
Douglas E. Priest and Wynette J. McNutt each filed lawsuits in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court challenging the constitutionality of red light camera procedures. The arguments in these suits are similar to Bradley Walker’s suit, which was recently appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court (see our prior post). The suits argue that ticket appeals to
More Lawsuits Challenge Constitutionality of Red Light Camera Appeal Procedures Read Post »