Ohio

Horn-honking is ‘small town terrorism,’ says man in suit against 40 neighbors

An Ohio man is suing 40 of his neighbors for allegedly honking their car horns near his home. Garrick Krlich of Hubbard contends that the horn-honking constitutes harassment, WKBN.com reports. Krlich has a website where he posts police reports and civil protection orders he’s filed, along with a dramatic retelling…

Sep 11, 2013 6:12 PM CDT

Man indicted after confessing on YouTube to a drunk-driving crash which killed another man

Updated: An Ohio man has been indicted by a grand jury after he confessed on video to killing another man while driving drunk. “I killed a man,” 22-year-old Matt Cordle says in the video posted on the Internet last week. “I take full responsibility for everything I’ve done to [the…

Sep 9, 2013 6:00 PM CDT

Is Missouri bill gunning for the First Amendment? | Audience member sues, alleging Blue Man goof

One aspect of a proposed Missouri law that would override federal gun laws would make it a misdemeanor to “publish the name, address, or other identifying information of any individual who owns a firearm” or who has applied for a firearm license, University of California at Los Angeles law professor…

Sep 6, 2013 2:05 PM CDT

Judge who denied public defender to college student abused discretion, appeals court says

An Ohio judge abused his discretion by denying a public defender to a college student whose parents refused to pay for an attorney to represent her in a criminal case, a state appellate court has ruled. Although Kelly Kasler, 22, is financially dependent on her parents to pay her tuition…

Sep 5, 2013 8:35 PM CDT

Ariel Castro, who held three women captive, dies in apparent suicide

The Ohio man who pleaded guilty in the rape and kidnapping of three women he held at his home for nearly a decade was found hanging in his cell on Tuesday in an apparent suicide. Ariel Castro, 53, was found at 9:20 p.m., report the Associated Press, the Columbus Dispatch…

Sep 4, 2013 11:53 AM CDT

New hearing ordered in hospital’s quest to resume chemo for Amish girl

An Ohio hospital has won a new hearing in its effort to resume chemotherapy for a 10-year-old Amish girl whose parents discontinued her leukemia treatments. An Ohio appeals court said the trial judge neglected to consider the interests of the girl when he refused to appoint a temporary medical guardian…

Aug 29, 2013 3:36 PM CDT

Lawyer charged in claimed ‘guardianship’ theft from minor child

A former Ohio attorney was indicted Tuesday, accused of altering a probate court document to show that she was a guardian of a minor child and then collecting $67,000 in benefits on his behalf. Lindsey T. Burt, 33, is charged with money laundering, forgery, theft and tampering with records. The…

Aug 28, 2013 6:18 PM CDT

Lawyer’s request that client meet him at her home naked results in license suspension

An Ohio lawyer has had his license suspended for a year, with six months stayed, after admittedly asking a client to meet him at the door of her home naked. Even after the woman rejected his suggestion that she could make “other arrangements” concerning his legal fees in a child…

Aug 28, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Verbal tussle with judge nets escalating days in jail for assault defendant (see the video)

An Ohio defendant facing misdemeanor charges of assault and domestic violence kept talking back—and getting her contempt sentence raised—after she realized a judge was banning her from her home. Ebony Burks’ initial contempt sentence was 30 days, but Judge Gary Bennett of Elyria raised the sentence seven times as Burks…

Aug 26, 2013 1:15 PM CDT

State high court asked: Can use of forms be unauthorized practice?

The Legal Profession Blog noted an interesting case argued in Ohio this week that poses the question: Is the use of forms unauthorized practice of law? On Wednesday, the Ohio Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law recommended that the state supreme court find that Thomas Jones, Jr., a nonlawyer…

Aug 22, 2013 5:40 PM CDT

Death sentence is too pricey and should be overturned, lawyer tells Ohio Supreme Court

Toledo lawyer Spiros Cocoves told the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday that his client’s death sentence should not be carried out because the cost is too high. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor framed the issue in a question for Cocoves, the Toledo Blade reports. “So your argument is that, because it’s…

Aug 21, 2013 11:58 AM CDT

Ohio kidnapper Castro fits sociopath profile and should be studied, his lawyers say

Lawyers for the Cleveland man who pleaded guilty in the kidnapping and rape of three women he held captive at his home say their client fits the profile for a sociopathic disorder and should be studied. The lawyers for Ariel Castro—Craig Weintraub and Jaye Schlachet—gave an exclusive interview to the…

Aug 20, 2013 11:53 AM CDT

Judge calls law profs’ 17-year divorce-related legal battle ‘frightening’

Law professors Christo Lassiter of the University of Cincinnati, and Sharlene Boltz of Northern Kentucky University were married for 10 years after wedding in 1986. Their divorce-related legal battles have lasted for 17 years, sparking criticism from multiple judges involved in the Hamilton County, Ohio, case, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.…

Aug 12, 2013 5:59 PM CDT

Judge expresses ‘surprise’ over verdict; jurors complain

Unhappy over a recent verdict in an Ohio municipal court case, a judge chastised jurors after it was announced, some members of the panel said. Several complained to Franklin County Administrative Judge James Green, who said they told him that Judge Amy Salerno came off the bench and complained she…

Aug 6, 2013 7:35 PM CDT

Ex-client sues law firm, says it withheld key info in real estate development project

An Ohio law firm has been sued by a former client, who blames alleged bad advice by Keating Muething & Klekamp for a decision of him and other investors guarantee more than $90 million in financing for a failed retail and office complex known as Kenwood Towne Place. The uncompleted…

Aug 5, 2013 10:10 PM CDT