Ohio

Man’s Facebook Rant Violated Protective Order; Judge Says He Can Post Apology or Go to Jail

Angry about a domestic relations court protective order that ordered him to stay away from his wife and affected his custody of his son, an Ohio man vented on his personal Facebook page. That got Mark Byron in a lot more trouble, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Ordered by a Hamilton…

Feb 24, 2012 8:06 PM CST

Promise of Love and Affection Isn’t Sufficient Consideration for Contract, Ohio Supreme Court Says

A couple in an off-again, on-again romantic relationship never had a valid contract to split property proceeds because the consideration was love and affection, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled. Amber Williams and Frederick Ormsby had two written contracts regarding a home first owned by Williams, according to the opinion…

Feb 24, 2012 2:42 PM CST

Ohio Justice Who Helped Write Death Penalty Law Now Opposes It

An Ohio Supreme Court justice who helped write the state’s death penalty law as a state legislator in 1981 is now speaking out against it. In December, Justice Paul Pfeifer testified in favor of a bill to abolish capital punishment, the Associated Press reports. “I have concluded that the death…

Feb 15, 2012 2:27 PM CST

Sanctions Sought for Law Firm Accused of Using Inadvertently Produced Info to Solicit New Clients

Counsel for some of the defendants in complex nationwide litigation concerning claimed defects in ASR hip implants marketed by a unit of Johnson & Johnson are asking a Georgia judge to sanction an Atlanta law firm. Childers Schlueter & Smith was already representing plaintiffs in some of the approximately 4,500…

Feb 13, 2012 9:30 PM CST

Supreme Court Declines to Lift Execution Stay Obtained by Ohio Inmate

A stay of execution remains in place for a convicted killer in Ohio after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. Death row inmate Charles Lorraine had been scheduled to die last month, but a federal judge granted a stay because of concerns that the state has failed to follow…

Feb 9, 2012 8:11 PM CST

Former Death Row Inmate Charged with Threatening Judge Who Once Prosecuted Him

A man who spent 21 years on Ohio’s death row before his conviction was overturned in 2008 has been charged with leaving a threatening telephone message for the judge who prosecuted the death penalty case against him. Ken Richey, 47, is accused of calling the Putnam County, Ohio, courthouse on…

Jan 26, 2012 10:13 PM CST

Trial Attorney Who Seemed to Have It All Is Now in Jail Awaiting a Bed in Drug Rehab Program

Once a handsome, successful and charismatic criminal defense lawyer described by a fellow Ohio attorney and friend as brilliant in the courtroom, David Scacchetti has had a spectacular fall from grace. Facing a felony heroin possession charge, the 55-year-old is represented by a public defender and has appeared disheveled in…

Jan 26, 2012 7:38 PM CST

TV Station Lampoons Corruption Trial with Puppet Court Re-Enactment

Viewers eager for information about the corruption trial of a former Cuyahoga County commissioner can’t watch the proceedings because of a ban on cameras in court. But viewers can watch a nightly puppet re-enactment aired by WOIO, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The puppets’ lines come from daily testimony and…

Jan 19, 2012 3:19 PM CST

Ex-Prez of Ohio State Bar Inflated Law Firm Biz Expenses, Gets 1 Year in Federal Tax Case

A former president of the Ohio State Bar Association has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to falsifying federal tax returns. Under the sentence he received from a federal judge in Youngstown, Leslie W. “Les” Jacobs, 67, must also serve just under…

Jan 18, 2012 9:02 PM CST

Rescued Lawyer, 84, Says Age Is No Impediment to Another Cape Horn Solo Sailing Try

An 84-year-old lawyer who was rescued during his sixth attempt to sail solo around the tip of South America says he may try again. Thomas Louis Corogin was rescued by the Chilean navy after a piece of rigging broke and his attempts to fix it didn’t work, the Associated Press…

Jan 10, 2012 12:56 PM CST

Cleveland Sues Ohio to Keep Its Trans Fat Ban

Cleveland Mayor Frank Johnson filed a complaint Tuesday against Ohio in response to a recent state law that bans municipalities from regulating the ingredients restaurants use to prepare foods. The battle over trans fat began last April when, as part of its Healthy Cleveland initiative, the Cleveland City Council passed…

Jan 4, 2012 10:55 PM CST

BigLaw Attorney Makes His Mark in Viral Metal Band Video Panned as Worst of 2011

Corrected: By day, Steven A. Delchin is a senior attorney at Squire Sanders & Dempsey specializing in litigation and appellate matters. But on his off hours he lets his imagination take him far from the corporate world, as a viral YouTube video demonstrates. Featuring Alternate Reality, a metal band in…

Dec 12, 2011 3:30 PM CST

Ohio Fetal Heartbeat Bill Divides Abortion Opponents

Abortion opponents are divided over a pending bill in Ohio that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Ohio Right to Life and the state Catholic conference have refused to endorse the bill because of fears it could result in legal precedent reaffirming Roe v. Wade, the…

Dec 5, 2011 4:44 PM CST

State Removes 200-Pound Boy, 8, From Mom’s Home Because He Is Too Fat

Few would dispute that overweight children are a national problem with worrisome potential health consequences, including the mother of a 200-pound 8-year-old Ohio boy who was removed from her home last month because he is too fat. However, some observers wonder whether the unusual action by Cleveland-area officials was appropriate,…

Nov 28, 2011 9:35 PM CST

Feds Raid Fringe Amish Group’s Compound, Arrest 7 in Alleged Hair-Cutting Hate Crimes

Responding to alleged attacks that had struck fear into the hearts of residents of pacifist Amish communities in multiple Midwestern states, federal authorities raided the Ohio compound of a breakaway Amish group this morning and arrested seven men. They are accused of hate crimes in a bizarre series of hair-cutting…

Nov 23, 2011 9:55 PM CST