183 results for 'court:"Ohio Supreme Court"'.
J. Fischer finds that while the port authority is an arm of the state, it is not exempt or immune from being assessed prejudgment interest in the current case, where the developer obtained a judgment as a creditor for the port's breach of a development contract. Therefore, the case must be remanded for a proper calculation of interest. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Fischer, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1501, Categories: Government, Damages, Contract
J. Fischer finds defendant's constitutional rights were not violated when the adult trial court added a tampering with evidence charge not considered by the juvenile trial court. The charge stemmed from the same actions that formed the basis of the original criminal complaint for murder and assault. Ohio law specifically allows adult courts to consider charges not bound over by a juvenile court, and because evidence presented during defendant's bind-over hearing established he sold the stolen gun used in the shooting to avoid prosecution, the tampering charge was properly added to the eventual indictment. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Fischer, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1433, Categories: Constitution, Juvenile Law, Murder
J. Fischer finds the lower court properly denied the newspaper's public records requests. When combined in a single request, the names, addresses, and causes of death for deceased individuals constitute "protected health information" not subject to disclosure under the Ohio Public Records Act. Although another statute makes death certificates public information, the inclusion of a cause of death with a decedent's name and address allows a petitioner to discover the past health status of an individual - prohibited by the Public Records Act - and so petitioners cannot seek disclosure of the records "en masse." Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Fischer, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1399, Categories: Government, Health Care, Public Record
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the lower court properly dismissed the mother's petition for a writ of mandamus in a child custody case. The motions cited in her initial filing had either been ruled on by the judge in her custody case or were not motions that required a response; therefore, her claims are moot. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1387, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law
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Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio denies the attorney's motion for supplemental briefing and dismisses the appeal filed on behalf of the husband as frivolous. The divorce court's decision was not a final, appealable order, a determination already made by the appeals court. However, the court declines to sanction the attorney as a vexatious litigator because that punishment has already been imposed in this case.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1305, Categories: Family Law, Sanctions, Jurisdiction
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the lower court properly dismissed the inmate's petition for a writ of mandamus against his trial court judge. The court's failure to include the correct number of firearms in its judgment did not render the judgment nonfinal and, therefore, the inmate had an adequate remedy through a direct appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1291, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Judiciary
J. DeWine finds the trial court erred when it allowed a witness to testify by video in this sexual relations case of a father with his minor adopted child. The father argues that the video testimony should have been face-to-face, and since it wasn’t, this violated his constitutional right to confront a witness. The appeals court and this one found that the use of video conferencing was a harmless error, and it had no bearing the father’s conviction of sexual battery. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: DeWine, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1247, Categories: Sex Offender, Battery, Witnesses
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds attorney John Taylor will be suspended from the practice of law for six months for his failure to provide honest answers on an application for a physician's assistant license, including whether he had ever been involved in a disciplinary investigation or had other aliases. Taylor had changed his name twice before he applied for the license and was investigated for the creation of child pornography images used in connection with his role as an expert witness in a criminal trial but failed to disclose any of this information on the application; however, because he has no previous disciplinary record and lost his physician's assistant license as a result of the misconduct, the suspension will be stayed in its entirety.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1082, Categories: Sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Brunner finds the trial court made all required findings before it imposed consecutive sentences for defendant's convictions on drug and gun charges, including a recitation of his extensive criminal history that involved 36 arrests and his refusal to accept responsibility for his conduct. Furthermore, the consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future harm. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Brunner, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1083, Categories: Drug Offender, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Deters finds the lower court erroneously granted the consumer's motion to withdraw her request for a jury trial over the pool company's objection. Although she was the party to pay the $500 jury deposit, Ohio law requires the consent of all parties to withdraw a jury request once the initial request has been perfected through payment. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Deters, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1065, Categories: Civil Procedure, Jury
Per curiam, the Ohio Supreme Court partially grants a writ of mandamus for the release of records related to a prisoner’s six public records requests. The court awards him statutory damages of $1,000 each, for two requests that were not fulfilled by the Ohio Department of Corrections. As for the other requests, the inmate submitted several requests to a contractor of the Ohio Department of Corrections that was not the custodian of the records; receiving referrals to the proper office does not constitute a denial of the request.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1015, Categories: Public Record, Damages
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds attorney David Edmund Stenson will be suspended from the practice of law for one year for his failure to inform a client he lacked professional liability insurance and for his failure to keep several clients' retainers in a client trust account. Stenson was previously disciplined for similar misconduct, but if he completes continuing education courses regarding client management, six months of the suspension will be stayed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-995, Categories: Sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Deters finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to represent himself during his trial on two murder charges because the request was made nearly two years after the case had been placed on the court's docket and was clearly a delay tactic, given the trial was set to begin in a week and defendant claimed to need several more months to examine all the evidence. Furthermore, although the prosecutor's comments during closing arguments that defendant was unreliable and the manipulation of several individuals showed defendant's poor character were inappropriate, they did not deprive him of a fair trial. The death sentences are appropriate based, in part, on the brutal nature of the crimes, including multiple stab wounds to the victims and his dismemberment of the bodies. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Deters, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-902, Categories: Death Penalty, Murder, Self Representation
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds that attorney Christopher Mark Alexander will be suspended from the practice of law for one year for a felony traffic conviction that stemmed from a high-speed chase while intoxicated. Although Alexander has a disciplinary history, he was forthcoming about his crime, has since completed alcohol addiction services, remained sober for more than two years and shown remorse for his actions, all of which will allow for a stay of the suspension so long as he commits no further misconduct.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-900, Categories: Sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Kennedy finds attorney Joseph Bell will be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law for a felony conviction that stemmed from his solicitation of sex from an undercover police officer whom he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Bell was an assistant prosecutor in the juvenile division of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, which makes his behavior more egregious because his job involved protecting children. Before he can apply for reinstatement in two years, he must complete community control sanctions imposed by the criminal court and submit proof from a medical professional that he has continued counseling.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-876, Categories: Sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Kennedy finds attorney Amber Renee Goodman will be permanently disbarred after she was convicted on a felony charge of unlawful sexual contact with a minor, which stemmed from her repeated rape of the 13-year-old daughter of her boyfriend. Although Goodman admitted her conduct was wrong and was previously abused by two husbands, she failed to take full responsibility for her actions, while a conviction for such heinous actions prevents her from ever serving as an attorney in the future.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-852, Categories: Sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. DeWine finds the lower court erroneously upheld the trial court's dismissal of defendant's postconviction relief petition without any factual or legal analysis. A delayed appeal of a criminal conviction qualifies as a direct appeal under Ohio statutory law, and, therefore, defendant had 365 days from his filing of the trial transcript with the appeals court to file his petition for postconviction relief. A delayed appeal is virtually identical to one filed within the 30-day deadline and was not intended to be treated differently under the statute. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: DeWine, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-775, Categories: Criminal Procedure
J. Stewart finds a criminal defendant does not have to intend to harm or kill a victim to be entitled to a self-defense jury instruction and, therefore, defendant's counsel was ineffective when he failed to request such an instruction during defendant's trial on assault charges. Defendant testified he shot his gun to scare the victim after the two had a heated argument outside a gas station, and because Ohio's self-defense statute requires only an "intent to repel or escape force," he was entitled to self-defense instruction and his conviction must be vacated. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Stewart, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-776, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Assault, Self Defense
J. Kennedy finds that discretionary immunity is a jurisdictional bar, not an affirmative defense, to claims brought against the state, including the one filed against Ohio State University by students who lost certain fees when in-person learning was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the case must be remanded to the appeals court to determine whether the university is immune from suit for its actions. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-764, Categories: Government, Immunity, Jurisdiction
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the inmate's petition for a writ of mandamus was mooted when the correctional facility provided copies of the documents he requested, but that he is entitled to statutory damages of $1,000 for the 11-day delay following his initial request.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-770, Categories: Public Record, Damages
J. Kennedy finds the appeals court properly denied the injured employee's petition for a writ of mandamus. Once the Industrial Commission determined she had reached maximum medical improvement and was no longer entitled to workers' compensation benefits, the Bureau of Workers' Compensation was required under Ohio law to recoup the overpayments made between the time she reached maximum improvement and the commission's decision. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-744, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment, Workers' Compensation
J. DeWine finds the appeals court erroneously overturned defendant's robbery convictions. Although only one of the victims had money taken from her when defendant set them up by posting a used car ad on a social media app, his use of a gun was sufficient to establish a threat of violence against both victims during the commission of his theft offense. Meanwhile, defendant forfeited his Brady claim related to evidence about the victim's Facebook searches to identify him prior to trial. Not not only did he fail to object or file a motion during trial when the Facebook photos were admitted into evidence, but his attorney was able to cross-examine each of the victims about the evidence. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: DeWine, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-749, Categories: Burglary, Theft