Last week, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeal issued a landmark decision prohibiting local government bodies from opening its meeting with a prayer said by one of its own. The facts of the case were undisputed and similar to countless …
In an article published by Columbus Business First on Feb. 10, 2017, Brian Zets discusses the implications of medical marijuana laws for employers. While the use of medical marijuana became legal in Ohio in June 2016, the process has been …
Since last September, you have been hearing about medical marijuana in Ohio. For months, it was nothing more than a foggy haze of generalities. Now, things are beginning to take shape. The Department of Commerce received public comment on the …
For years, I have been advising municipal clients to avoid email and text messages. Not because I am anti-technology (I could not live without my iPhone), but because of its implication of Ohio’s Open Meetings Act. And last week, the …
Each county, municipal corporation, township, township police district, and joint police district with a police or sheriff’s department that employs volunteer peace officers, must comply with newly created R.C. Chapter 143, and quickly. The General Assembly recently established the Volunteer …
Last month, the United States District Court in Cincinnati held the Portsmouth Rental Dwelling Code (RDC) violated the Fourth Amendment insofar as it authorized warrantless administrative inspections. Facing an aging, dilapidated housing stock that was turning into rental properties, the …
ames Holder was a passenger in a vehicle whose driver was arrested for OVI. The arresting officer asked Holder if he could call someone to pick him up. Holder stated that his girlfriend would, and the officer then informed Holder …
On a mid-summer evening, a 911 call in Toledo reports “a guy walking down the street” with his dog “carrying a gun out in the open.” Upon further inquiry from the dispatcher, it was determined to be a handgun, not …
If you have not looked at your sign code in a long time, there is no time like the present. Last week the United States Supreme Court reminded us that content-based regulations of speech (like your sign code) rarely survive …
Last month in State v. Hill, 2015-Ohio-1456, the Ohio Supreme Court had the opportunity to review Ohio’s photo lineup procedure. R.C. 2933.83, effective July 2010, governs the administration of photo and live lineups and is aimed at preventing the use of …
The Ohio Supreme Court agreed to hear whether Olentangy Local School District violated Ohio’s Sunshine Law. In April 2013, Adam White filed an action against fellow school board members alleging violations of the Ohio Open Meetings Act when school board …
A political subdivision’s ability to prohibit firearms is limited. Everyone knows the Ohio Constitution makes clear “the people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security.” Likewise, R.C. 9.68 states that unless “specifically provided by the United …
