Ohio

Ohio Dowry Ruling is Appealed; Important Muslim Marriage Issue

In a case that has attracted national interest, an Ohio woman is appealing a court ruling that her ex-husband doesn’t have to pay the dowry she is guaranteed in her Muslim marriage contract. Although courts in other states reportedly have enforced similar religious marriage contracts, the judge in Raghad Alwattar’s…

Nov 1, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Theatrics Void $30M Jury Award

The Ohio Supreme Court has overturned a record-breaking $30 million medical malpractice award, citing, among other courtroom misbehavior, a theatrical closing argument by the controversial Michigan attorney representing the brain-injured plaintiff. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger’s courtroom antics, including his assumption at closing of the persona of his client, when he allegedly…

Oct 27, 2007 12:35 AM CDT

Courts Disagree on Dowry Enforceability

Although one Muslim man’s marriage contract calls for a $25,000 dowry to be paid to his wife, he doesn’t have to pay her, now that they are divorced, because it is a religious agreement rather than an enforceable legal contract, an Ohio judge has ruled. The decision, the first on…

Oct 22, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

Merit, Not Lockstep, Pay at Jones Day

Despite the attention paid in recent months to Howrey’s announcement that it would no longer implement a so-called lockstep pay schedule for associate attorneys, merit-based salary schedules are by no means unprecedented at major firms. Jones Day has had such a salary system for associates for decades, paying young attorneys…

Oct 15, 2007 8:03 PM CDT

DOJ Cuts Billion $$ Emissions Deal

A utility company has reached a pollution agreement that will be one of the largest environmental settlements in the history of the Justice Department. The deal is expected to be announced today. CNN and the Associated Press reported that American Electric Power agreed to install $4.6 billion in equipment to…

Oct 9, 2007 1:25 PM CDT

Boy, 10, Freed in Fatal Arson; ‘A Victim’

A 10-year-old boy who is accused of having set an Ohio fire that killed five people, including his mother, has been ordered released to his maternal grandmother’s custody. The boy’s mother died in the fire along with his 8-year-old sister and three other children, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. Hence, in…

Oct 1, 2007 9:24 PM CDT

ABA Prez Seeks Ohio Death Penalty Halt

After a 30-month study, a group of legal experts associated with the American Bar Association called today for a temporary moratorium on enforcement of the death penalty in Ohio until a “flawed” criminal justice system can be corrected. Inadequate legal representation, among other problems, means that the interests of many…

Sep 24, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

No Free Lunch: Bank Sued re Sandwiches

The state of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against Citibank contending that a free sandwich offer was deceptive. Because this and at least one other offer promising free food to college students who showed an ID made no mention of the fact that they would also have to apply for…

Sep 24, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Law Grad Acquitted, Relies on Polygraph

A judge’s decision to admit the results of a polygraph exam may have helped a law school graduate win acquittal Monday in an Ohio sexual battery case. Sahil Sharma had been charged for a sexual encounter with a woman after a wedding they attended in Cuyahoga Falls, the Cleveland Plain…

Sep 5, 2007 2:54 PM CDT

Judge Fines PD: 1 Day OK for Trial Prep

Saying that a 20-minute talk with one’s client and interviewing witnesses during one’s lunch hour is sufficient preparation to allow a lawyer to try a case, an Ohio judge reportedly upheld his own earlier contempt-of-court citation and fined an assistant public defender Friday. Brian Jones refused to try a misdemeanor…

Aug 27, 2007 3:37 PM CDT

Contempt Trial for Arrested PD

CORRECTED: There’s no word yet about the result of a contempt trial scheduled today in the case of an Ohio assistant public defender briefly jailed last week after he refused to try a case he’d been assigned the previous day. Brian Jones, who is to be represented by a fellow…

Aug 25, 2007 1:12 AM CDT

Judge Appoints PD, Has Him Arrested

Updated: Criminal law blogs are abuzz over the contempt case of Brian Jones, an assistant public defender in Portage County, Ohio. Seems that Jones was appointed Wednesday by Portage County Municipal Court Judge John Plough to represent Jordan Scott, 20, on a charge of misdemeanor assault. The trial was then…

Aug 20, 2007 3:38 PM CDT

Judge Tells Jurors: No ‘CSI’

A judge in Butler County, Ohio, thinks some TV crime shows have created unrealistic expectations for jurors—and she’s doing something about it. Judge Patricia Oney of Hamilton bars jurors from watching TV shows ranging from CSI to Law & Order, the Associated Press reports. “So many shows now are pulled…

Aug 14, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Mortgage Foreclosures Rise 58 Percent

Mortgage foreclosures nationwide were up by 58 percent during the first half of 2007, compared to the first half of 2006. That translates to a total of 573,397 homes at some point in the foreclosure process between January and June 2007, from a notice of default to repossession, reports the…

Jul 31, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

Ohio Domestic Violence Law Upheld

In 2004 Ohio voters adopted a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage despite warnings that it could undermine domestic violence laws. That argument has proven unwarranted. Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court held the same-sex marriage ban does not conflict with laws barring domestic violence between unmarried couples, the Toledo Blade reports.…

Jul 26, 2007 3:59 PM CDT