Ohio

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

Ex-judge convicted of lying to FBI should be suspended, disciplinary panel says

A former Ohio judge who was convicted and served time for lying to the FBI should be suspended indefinitely from the practice of law but not disbarred, a disciplinary board has recommended to the state supreme court. Bridget McCafferty, 47, who served on the Cuyahoga County common pleas court from…

Aug 5, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Ariel Castro gets life plus 1,000 years, says ‘I am not a monster,’ cites ‘harmony’ among captives

Sentenced to life plus 1,000 years on Thursday for kidnapping two teens and a young women and holding them captive at his Ohio home and raping and torturing them for nearly a decade, Ariel Castro did not appear to have a grasp on reality. After testimony about facts such as…

Aug 1, 2013 8:10 PM CDT

Family sues medical center, says kidney removed from sibling was trashed before planned transplant

An Ohio family has sued the University of Toledo Medical Center, saying that the hospital “botched” the planned transplant of a kidney donated by one sibling to another sibling by mistakenly discarding the organ after it had been harvested. A part-time nurse, not realizing that a “slush” machine contained the…

Jul 31, 2013 11:05 PM CDT

Treadmill desks help lawyers stay in shape at Taft Stettinius

For lawyers who may think they’re too busy to exercise, estate planning and probate partner Mary Rust of Taft Stettinius & Hollister has an answer: Treadmill desks. She and another Cincinnati partner have them in their offices, allowing them to exercise without leaving their desks. Another two treadmill desks are…

Jul 29, 2013 3:40 PM CDT

Ariel Castro takes plea in Ohio kidnap case, expected to get life plus 1,000 years

Accused of kidnapping three young women, holding them captive at his home and torturing them for nearly a decade, a Cleveland man has taken a plea that will require him to spend the rest of his life in prison. Ariel Castro, 53, is expected to be sentenced to life plus…

Jul 26, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Judge found in contempt for barring journalist from courtroom in defiance of appeals court order

Updated: An Ohio appeals court has found a trial judge in contempt of court for barring a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter from the courtroom in a juvenile case, despite a prior appellate court order requiring access. The Ohio Court of Appeals, First Appellate District, found Judge Tracie Hunter in contempt in…

Jul 24, 2013 12:27 PM CDT

Civil rights alarms raised after Ohio prisons cut electricity as heat index rises

Ohio state prisons that turn off power and run on backup generators during heat waves may be saving the state some money, but the action also puts inmates and employees in a dangerous position, says the American Civil Liberties Union. According to a WKSU News report, 24 Ohio prisons have…

Jul 19, 2013 8:02 PM CDT

Judge orders confiscation of traffic cameras

A Hamilton County (Cincinnati) judge slammed the tiny village of Elmwood Place and the company it uses to issue camera-caught speeding tickets, in effect saying they ran right through his judicial STOP sign. County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman had ruled back in March that using cameras to ticket…

Jun 28, 2013 8:00 PM CDT

University of Cincinnati law school listens to world’s message: Tuition has gotten too high

The University of Cincinnati law school will cut tuition for out-of-state residents by 30 percent, following the lead of another cost-cutting Ohio law school. Tuition and fees for out-of-state residents will drop from $40,044 to $28,536 at the Cincinnati law school next year, the National Law Journal reports. Ohio residents…

Jun 27, 2013 2:54 PM CDT