Ohio

State supreme court allows in-person jury trial, which ends with defendant nearly collapsing

An Ohio judge tried to hold Tuesday what may be the nation’s first in-person jury trial since shutdown orders began. But it ended when the defendant was carried out of the courthouse on a stretcher.

May 1, 2020 9:53 AM CDT

Lawyer indefinitely suspended for stealing from mentally ill client, charging legal rate for lawn mowing

The Ohio Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended a lawyer accused of transferring more than $147,000 from the accounts of a mentally ill client, although he and his law firm were only owed about $19,000.

Apr 29, 2020 9:31 AM CDT

State supreme court bars judge from having in-person hearings in most cases because of coronavirus

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a domestic relations judge in Medina County can’t have routine hearings in person because of COVID-19 concerns.

Apr 17, 2020 10:52 AM CDT

Texas abortion providers withdraw Supreme Court petition after new 5th Circuit decision

Abortion providers in Texas have withdrawn a Supreme Court application to allow medication abortions to continue in the state after a federal appeals court granted the relief that they sought.

Apr 15, 2020 9:54 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Amazon GC’s leaked notes may lead to lawsuit; ABA legal ed section’s council seeks ideas

Amazon GC badmouthed protest organizer in leaked notes Amazon general counsel David Zapolsky badmouthed fired warehouse employee and protest organizer Christian Smalls, according to internal notes of a meeting leaked to Vice News. Zapolsky wrote in his meeting notes that Smalls is “not smart, or articulate, and to the extent…

Apr 7, 2020 4:52 PM CDT

Federal judges in Texas and Ohio block pandemic-related abortion bans

Federal judges in Texas and Ohio have temporarily blocked abortion bans that were adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mar 31, 2020 9:55 AM CDT

Texas and Ohio AGs say abortions are nonessential medical procedures that must be delayed

Updated: Two state attorneys general have told abortion providers that abortions cannot be performed under state orders to delay nonessential and elective surgeries.

Mar 24, 2020 12:01 PM CDT

Judge defies order to delay hearings, denies issuing warrants for no-shows

“Not everyone watches the news, and I wanted to be here and have the hearings for those that showed up,” Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr said.

Mar 19, 2020 11:02 AM CDT

Bar applicant with extreme school debt can sit for the bar, Ohio Supreme Court says

Cynthia Marie Rodgers, the Capital University School of Law graduate who got dinged on her Ohio character and fitness application for having almost $900,000 in school debt—and seemingly no clear plan to ever repay it—can sit for the bar exam, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled March 5. The court based…

Mar 6, 2020 3:05 PM CST

Dentons says $32.3M malpractice verdict was ‘simply wrong,’ and it will appeal

Dentons says it will appeal a $32.3 million malpractice verdict based on its disqualification in a patent case because of work done by its Canadian branch.

Feb 26, 2020 10:39 AM CST

In ‘Bart Simpson-esque’ punishment, lawyer is ordered to pledge compliance with ethics rules in legible handwriting

A Cleveland-area lawyer had to show his contrition with a $500 fine and a written mea culpa as a result of a judge’s order last week.

Feb 18, 2020 1:53 PM CST

Lawyer’s suit claims law firm’s book ‘is a slimmed down, ersatz version’ of his treatise

An Ohio lawyer has filed a lawsuit alleging that the Beasley Allen law firm and one of its partners published a book on whistleblower law that copies information from his own treatise.

Feb 10, 2020 2:05 PM CST

Ohio bar applicant with ‘extreme’ school debt runs into potential character and fitness issues

Cynthia Marie Rodgers, a 2019 law school graduate, with her husband has a total of almost $900,000 in school debt. The Ohio Supreme Court’s board of character and fitness thinks that issue—along with her history of filing many lawsuits and nonpayment of old consumer debts—should prevent her from becoming a lawyer, at least for a few years.

Jan 30, 2020 1:51 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Judge and civil rights lawyer dies at 93; lawyer reminds court of Super Bowl continuance promise

Nathaniel Jones, civil rights lawyer and appeals judge, dies at 93 Former civil rights lawyer and federal appeals judge Nathaniel Jones died Sunday at age 93. Jones was on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati and was former general counsel for the NAACP. (The Cincinnati Enquirer, Blank…

Jan 27, 2020 4:20 PM CST

Judge calls ICE if he thinks defendants in his courtroom are in US illegally

A Cincinnati judge said he regularly calls U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when he suspects that defendants in his courtroom are in the country illegally.

Jan 27, 2020 10:10 AM CST