Ohio

State high court justices ask their senators to preserve funding for the Legal Services Corp.

Justices of at least two state supreme courts have asked their states’ senators to fight a proposal by President Donald Trump’s administration to revoke all funding for the Legal Services Corp. Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor sent a letter in March to her state’s two senators and congressional delegation opposing…

Apr 12, 2017 11:40 AM CDT

Without mentioning Trump by name, federal judge takes aim at the president’s comments

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster of Cleveland on Wednesday took aim at President Donald Trump’s tweets about the judiciary and his comments about immigrants, though Polster didn’t mention the president by name. In a speech before the civil rights committee of Cleveland’s Anti-Defamation League, Polster said a public office holder…

Feb 10, 2017 10:28 AM CST

Dozens of clinic patients were wrongly told they had Alzheimer’s, suit alleges

Dozens of patients at a cognitive clinic in Ohio were wrongly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s by the unlicensed clinic director, a lawsuit alleges. The suit against the Toledo Clinic Cognitive Center, initially filed last summer on behalf of three former patients and their spouses, now has dozens of plaintiffs, the Associated…

Feb 10, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Data on man’s pacemaker led to his arrest on arson charges

Police charged a Middletown, Ohio, man with aggravated arson and insurance fraud after data on his pacemaker was inconsistent with his claims about his physical activity when his house burned down. Police said they charged Ross Compton, 59, after obtaining a warrant to search the pacemaker, report WLWT and the…

Feb 6, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Lawyer accused of using run-on sentences and ‘verbose exaggerations’ files unusual brief in response

Ohio personal injury lawyer Timothy Chappars decided to show an insurance defense lawyer what a real run-on sentence looks like after the opposing counsel claimed Chappars’ writing was so deficient that his entire lawsuit should be dismissed. In a Jan. 5 filing, Chappars wrote a run-on sentence that spanned more…

Jan 17, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Law student shot and killed by police officer was unarmed

A law student was unarmed when he was shot and killed by a police officer in Hudson, Ohio, during a struggle with the officer following a traffic accident on Dec. 4, officials say. The slain man, 26-year-old Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri, was a law student at Case Western Reserve. The…

Dec 14, 2016 10:52 AM CST

Judge candidate gets law license suspension for attack ads; dissenters cite free-speech protection

An unsuccessful judicial candidate in Ohio will have his law license suspended because of two attack ads he ran in the 2014 race. The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended the law license of Ronnie Michael Tamburrino for one year, with the final six months of the suspension stayed on…

Dec 9, 2016 8:00 AM CST

Mistrial declared in trial of white cop for killing black man; how did jurors vote?

A judge in Cincinnati on Saturday declared mistrial after jurors deadlocked in the case of a white police officer accused of shooting an unarmed black man. Prosecutors revealed at trial that former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing had been wearing a T-shirt with a Confederate flag on it…

Nov 14, 2016 8:41 AM CST

Ex-lawyer pleads guilty to hypnotizing women for sexual pleasure, faces 12-year sentence

Former Ohio lawyer Michael W. Fine pleaded guilty Monday to hypnotizing six women with the motive of getting sexual pleasure from them. Fine agreed to permanent disbarment last year. The plea agreement includes five counts of kidnapping and one count of attempted kidnapping; each charge carries a sexual motivation specification,…

Sep 13, 2016 4:30 PM CDT

Deborah Z. Read: A new ‘PaTH’ for her firm

A new PaTH for her firm

Sep 13, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

Law prof loses assault suit over alleged shoulder grab by colleague

An Ohio Northern University law professor who sued over an alleged “strong and tight” squeeze of his shoulder by a colleague has lost his case. U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary ruled against the professor, Scott Gerber, in a bench trial. “This is a case seemingly ripped from the pages of…

Aug 25, 2016 3:00 PM CDT

6th Circuit allows suit claiming WebWatcher software violates wiretap law, invades privacy

A federal appeals court is allowing a lawsuit that claims the maker of WebWatcher spyware violates federal and Ohio wiretap laws, as well as a common law right to privacy The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a judge’s dismissal of the suit in a 2-1 decision (PDF)…

Aug 19, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Ohio lawyers can’t help medical marijuana businesses, advisory opinion says

Ohio lawyers can give advice about the legality of operating a medical marijuana business in the state, but they can’t help clients establish or operate such a business, according to an advisory opinion. The Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct cited federal law in the Aug. 5 opinion (PDF), which…

Aug 16, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Two Ohio lawyers sue for access to lists of workers’ comp claimants, claim First Amendment violation

Two Ohio lawyers claim in a federal lawsuit that their First Amendment right to advertise is violated by the state’s ban on soliciting workers’ compensation claimants and the state’s refusal to provide claimant lists. Lawyer Thomas Bevan of Bevan & Associates in Boston Heights filed the suit (PDF) along with…

Aug 11, 2016 9:41 AM CDT

Lawyer who refused to remove Black Lives Matter pin is sentenced to five days in jail

An Ohio lawyer is appealing a five-day contempt sentence for refusing to remove her Black Lives Matter pin in court. Municipal Judge Robert Milich of Youngstown found lawyer Andrea Burton in contempt of court and sentenced her on Friday, report WKBN and the Youngstown Vindicator. Burton tells the Youngstown Vindicator…

Jul 25, 2016 9:38 AM CDT