Justia Ohio Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s judgment - and, in turn, the court of appeals’ judgment - granting Defendant’s petition for postconviction relief and remanded this matter for further proceedings, holding that the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to grant Defendant’s petition for postconviction relief.Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and two counts of rape and sentenced to death. The court of appeals and Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentence. This appeal concerned Defendant’s fourth postconviction petition. Defendant filed his petition in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, challenging DNA testing done on the victim’s vagina. After holding an evidentiary hearing, the court acquitted Defendant of vaginal rape, dismissed the other rape charge, and granted Defendant a new trial on the remaining counts. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment, holding that, under the circumstances presented in this case, the General Assembly has not authorized a court of common pleas to exercise jurisdiction over a petition for postconviction relief. View "State v. Apanovitch" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus to compel the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts to produce public records and granted a limited writ of mandamus as to Appellant’s third request for documents.Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder. Appellant later sent a public-records request to the clerk of courts requesting six documents pertaining to his criminal case. Because the clerk did not respond to the public records request Appellant filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus compelling production of the documents. The court of appeals granted summary judgment in favor of the clerk. The Supreme Court reversed in part and issued a limited writ of mandamus as to Appellant’s third request for documents requiring the clerk to provide responsive records or to clarify that no such records exist, holding that the record was unclear as to this request. View "State ex rel. Harris v. Preval" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition, holding that Appellant was not entitled to a writ of mandamus, nor was he entitled to a writ of prohibition.In his mandamus and prohibition complaint, Appellant alleged that the common pleas court and its judges unlawfully conveyed to another assets that Appellant’s deceased father had bequeathed to him. The court of appeals dismissed the complaint. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant was not entitled to relief because he failed to demonstrate that he lacked an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law and because he did not demonstrate that the courts lacked statutory jurisdiction over the matter. View "State ex rel. Evans v. Scioto County Common Pleas Court" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal brought by the Office of Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group (OMAEG) challenging the Public Utility Commission’s decision to approve the third electric-security plan (ESP) of Ohio Power Company, holding that OCC and OMAEG failed to demonstrate prejudice or harm caused by the ESP order.On appeal, OCC and OMAEG argued that the Commission’s approval of the Power Purchase Agreement Ride as a component of the ESP was reversible error. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding (1) OCC failed to demonstrate that ratepayers suffered actual harm or prejudice from the ESP order; and (2) this Court declines to address the claims that ratepayers were at risk of imminent or future harm rising from the ESP order. View "In re Application of Ohio Power Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the Public Utilities Commission that approved a charge referred to as the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Rider as a component of Ohio Power Company’s third electric-security plan (ESP), holding that the order was not unlawful or unreasonable.Specifically, the Court held (1) the PPA Rider did not recover unlawful transition revenue; (2) the challenges to the Commission’s approval of the PPA Rider under the ESP statute, Ohio Rev. Code 4928.143, were without merit; (3) the challenges to the Commission’s approval of the joint stipulation to resolve the issues in the PPA Rider case failed; and (4) the Commission complied with Ohio Rev. Code 4903.09 when it approved the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation-only PPA Rider. View "In re Application of Ohio Power Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Mars Urban Solutions, LLC and Michael Majeski seeking to compel the Cuyahoga County fiscal officer and Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) to comply with a judgment of the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) that reduced the 2010 value of a property that Majeski owned and later conveyed to Mars Urban, holding that a writ was not warranted in this case.The Court reached its conclusion after noting that 2012 was the first year of a new sexennium, and any dispute that Mars Urban and Majeski had pertaining to the property value for any year beyond 2011 should have been filed as a new and separate claim for each year. The Court also held that the fiscal officer and the BOR submitted sufficient evidence to establish that both entities complied with the BTA’s judgment for tax years 2010 and 2011. Therefore, the Court denied the writ. View "State ex rel. Mars Urban Solutions, LLC v. Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the tax commissioner, holding that the sale-for-resale exemption of Ohio Rev. Code 5739.01(E) applied to preclude Cincinnati Reds, LLC (the Reds) from having to pay use tax on promotional items it purchased.The tax commissioner denied the Reds’ request to remove the promotional items from the use-tax assessment, concluding that there was no evidence that the promotional items were resold with admission to games. The BTA affirmed, finding that the promotional items were given away for free and that the cost of the promotional items was not included in the ticket price. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) consideration is given in exchange for the Reds’ agreement to supply fans with the promotional items, and therefore, the transfer of promotional items to fans constitutes a “sale” under section 5739.01(B)(1); and (2) accordingly, the promotional items were subject to the sale-for-resale exemption of section 5739.01(E). View "Cincinnati Reds, LLC v. Testa" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals reversing Defendant’s conviction after ruling that Defendant’s blackout defense was not an affirmative defense that must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, holding that blackout is an affirmative defense pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code 2901.05(D)(1)(b).A jury found Defendant guilty of felonious assault. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court committed structural error by instructing the jury that blackout is an affirmative defense. The Court of Appeals agreed and reversed Defendant’s conviction. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Defendant’s blackout defense was an affirmative defense that would allow the defendant to avoid liability even if the state produced sufficient evidence to support a conviction; (2) the requirement that the state prove that the defendant acted voluntarily is not an additional element or burden on the state; and (3) the trial court properly instructed the jury that the state had the burden of proving each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, and the trial court did not shift to Defendant the state’s burden to prove an essential element of the offense charged. View "State v. Ireland" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the tax commissioner’s denial of Willoughby Hills Development and Distribution, Inc.’s (WHDD) request for a commercial-activity-tax (CAT) refund, holding that WHDD fell short of the requirements necessary for the gross-receipts exclusion to apply.Subject to exclusions, the CAT is levied on each entity with taxable gross receipts above a certain threshold for the privilege of doing business in Ohio. At issue was whether WHDD could meet the requirements of the gross-receipts exclusion that applies when a person or entity acts as an agent for another. The tax commissioner concluded that no agency relationship existed and denied the refund claim. The BTA affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that WHDD did not meet the CAT statute’s definition of “agent.” View "Willoughby Hills Development & Distribution, Inc. v. Testa" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition against Ross County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Nusbaum, holding that Appellant was not entitled to relief in mandamus or prohibition.Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the court of common pleas. Judge Nusbaum dismissed the petition based on res judicata and for failure to state a claim cognizable in habeas. Appellant later commenced this action against Judge Nusbaum alleging that the judge lacked jurisdiction over the habeas petition. The Court of Appeals granted Judge Nusbaum’s motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant failed to demonstrate that the judge lacked jurisdiction over the habeas petition. View "State ex rel. White v. Nusbaum" on Justia Law