Justia Ohio Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court held that the failure to serve the Ohio Attorney General a declaratory judgment claim alleging an ordinance is unconstitutional at the inception of the action does not divest the trial court of its subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code 2721.12.The City of Cincinnati filed an action for injunctive relief against Fourth National Realty, LLC alleging that Fourth National had installed an outdoor advertising sign without obtaining the necessary permit and variance. Fourth National filed a counterclaim seeking a declaration that the City's outdoor advertising ordnances violated its constitutional right to free speech but did not serve its counterclaim until two years into the litigation. On remand, the City argued that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because Fourth National had not served the attorney general with notice of the pending constitutional claim at the inception of Fourth National's case. The trial court concluded that it had subject matter jurisdiction, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that section 2721.12(A) does not require service on the attorney general at the inception of the action. View "City of Cincinnati v. Fourth National Realty, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that Ohio Rev. Code 2151.352 is unconstitutionally underinclusive as applied to indigent parents facing the loss of their parental rights in probate court and that indigent parents are entitled to counsel in adoption proceedings in probate court as a matter of equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Ohio Const. art. I, 2.Petitioners filed petitions in the probate court to adopt Mother's two children. Mother filed a request for appointed counsel, which the probate court denied. The court of appeals affirmed the denial of Mother's request for appointed counsel, concluding that equal protection and due process guarantees are inapplicable to requests for appointed counsel in adoption causes brought by private petitioners. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the disparate treatment between indigent parents faced with losing parental rights in a custody proceeding in juvenile court, who are entitled to appointed counsel, and indigent parents faced with losing parental rights in an adoption proceeding in probate court, who are not entitled to appointed counsel, violates equal protection guarantees. View "In re Adoption of Y.E.F." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that a condition of community control imposed on Defendant that Defendant "make all reasonable efforts to avoid impregnating a woman" during his sentence was not reasonably related to the goals of community control, nor was it reasonably tailored to avoid impinging Defendant's liberty no more than necessary.Defendant was convicted of several felony counts of nonsupport of dependents. Defendant's sentence included the anti-procreation condition at issue. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the anti-procreation prohibition impermissibly infringed upon Defendant's constitutional rights. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the condition unnecessarily imagined upon Defendant's liberty, and therefore, the trial court must remove the anti-procreation condition but may impose other conditions that are appropriately tailored to the goals of community control. View "State v. Chapman" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of aggravated murder and other crimes but vacated his death sentence, holding that the aggravating circumstances that Defendant was found guilty of committing did not outweigh the mitigating factors present in the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore a sentence of death was not appropriate.Defendant was found guilty of multiple offenses, including aggravated murder and three accompanying death-penalty specifications - committing the aggravated murder during an aggravated robbery, an aggravated burglary, and a kidnapping. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the felony-murder aggravating circumstances that were found by the jury outweighed the mitigating factors presented by the defense beyond a reasonable doubt. The Supreme Court held that they did not and therefore remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing consistent with Ohio Rev. Code 2929.06. View "State v. Graham" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for kidnapping, rape, and murder, holding that when a criminal defendant validly exercises his right to self-representation he can no longer raise claim under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution that his trial counsel - standby or otherwise - was ineffective.In his criminal trial, Defendant waived his right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment and chose to represent himself. The trial court accepted Defendant's waiver and appointed standby counsel to be available to assist Defendant. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment rights by limiting the role of his standby counsel. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that, based on the court's understanding of the typical role of standby counsel, the trial court did not improperly limit the role of standby counsel. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because the trial court had the discretion not to appoint standby counsel at all, the court did not abuse its discretion by appointing standby counsel with a limited role. View "State v. Hackett" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals vacating certain sexually-violent-predator specifications that had been applied to Defendant's sentence, holding that, as applied, the specifications violated the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution.Defendant was found guilty of numerous counts of rape, kidnapping, and related crimes involving three victims, including sexually-violent-predator specifications. The court of appeals upheld the convictions on all assignments of error except those challenging Defendant's convictions on the sexually-violent-predator specifications that attached to the crimes that Defendant committed before April 29, 2005. The court vacated the convictions on those specifications as violating the Ex Post Facto Clause. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the application of the current version of Ohio Rev. Code 2971.01(H)(1) to Defendant for his crimes in 2003 and 2005 violated the Ex Post Facto Clause. View "State v. Townsend" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's two aggravated murder convictions and death sentences, holding that no reversible error occurred in the proceedings below.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) defense counsel were not ineffective for failing to request a change of venue or in filing a joint motion for a gag order; (2) defense counsel were not ineffective for withdrawing Defendant's plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in Defendant's absence or in failing to request a continuance to obtain additional neuroimaging; (3) defense counsel were deficient for failing to object to certain evidence, but the deficient performance did not result in prejudice; (4) defense counsel made an inappropriate comment during mitigation-phase closing argument, but the comment did not prejudice Defendant; (5) Defendant's remaining ineffective assistance of counsel claims were without merit; (6) the trial court did not err in replacing one juror with an alternate juror; and (7) Defendant's sentences were not unlawful. View "State v. Grate" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals concluding that a child-abuse investigator employed by a county children-services agency need not give the warnings required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), before questioning a child suspected of committing child abuse, holding that the questioning in this case violated neither Miranda nor the suspect's federal due process rights.The trial court in this case granted the suspect's motion to suppress, finding that the suspect's statement to the agency had been obtained in violation of his due process rights. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that where the evidence demonstrated that the child-abuse investigator who interviewed the suspect was neither a law enforcement officer nor acting under the direction or control of the police and where the suspect's confession was not causally related to any conduct of the police, the court of appeals correctly concluded that the confession resulting from the questioning was admissible at trial. View "In re M.H." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals upholding Defendant's convictions in a second appeal, holding that Defendant's right to a speedy trial was violated after his case was remanded to the trial court for retrial.The trial court convicted Defendant of two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer. The court of appeals reversed and remanded the matter. On remand, Defendant pleaded no contest to the charges of having a weapon under disability and failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer. The court of appeals affirmed, concluding that Defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial was not violated during the trial court's remand proceedings. The Supreme Court reversed and vacated Defendant's convictions, holding that all four factors under Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972) weighed in Defendant's favor. View "State v. Long" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the portion of the court of appeals' judgment upholding the General Assembly's enactment of laws that centralize the collection and administration of net-profits taxes but reversed the portion of the judgment upholding the portion of the legislation allowing the state to retain .5 percent of the collected taxes, holding that the retention provision exceeds the General Assembly's authority.Appellants, several cities and villages, all impose a net-profits tax, which is a tax on income earned within their boundaries. After the General Assembly passed laws imposing centralized administration of those taxes Appellants brought this lawsuit arguing that the legislation violates their home-rule authority and exceeds the General Assembly's constitutional power to limit the power of municipalities to levy taxes. The Supreme Court held (1) the laws imposing centralized administration constitute an act of limitation within the General Assembly's explicit constitutional authority; and (2) the law providing for the state's retention of .5 percent of municipal net-profits taxes a fee or a tax for the state's centralized administration is unconstitutional. View "Athens v. McClain" on Justia Law