Tag: Justice Melody Stewart

Ohio Supreme Court Rules August 8th Special Election Can Continue as Planned

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the August 8th special election to vote on Ohio State Issue 1 aimed at altering the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments can legally proceed as scheduled.

Ohio State Issue 1 if approved by voters would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.

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Ohio Supreme Court Rules State Issue 1 Ballot Language Must be Rewritten

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Ballot Board must rewrite some of the language that will appear as State Issue 1 before voters on the August special election ballot.

In the decision issued by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy and Justices Pat Fischer, Pat DeWine, and Joe Deters the Ohio Ballot Board (OBB) is to address issues in the ballot text, including one that they said misrepresented the new threshold of voter signatures that amendment campaigns must amass from each Ohio county to be eligible for the ballot.

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Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee to Consider Supreme Court Endorsements and Resolution to Protect State Constitution

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to consider endorsements for the three Ohio Supreme Court seats up for grabs in 2024, as well as a resolution to support the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment.

In the Ohio Supreme Court, Democratic Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart are up for re-election and Republican Justice Joe Deters must run for retention in 2024 and re-election in 2026. It will give Republicans an opportunity to hold 6 of 7 seats in the high court. Currently, the GOP has a 4-3 majority in the state Supreme Court.

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Republican Judge Megan Shanahan Announces Bid for Ohio Supreme Court Seat

Hannah Poling

Republican Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan has announced her bid for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court in 2024. Shanahan is the first to announce her candidacy.

According to Shanahan, she is running for an Ohio Supreme Court Seat because she understands the proper role of the judiciary “interpreting the law, not legislating from the bench.”

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Ohio Supreme Court Accepts Attorney General Yost’s Appeal in ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban Case, Won’t Rule on Constitutional Question

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court has formally accepted an appeal by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in a case involving the state’s six-week abortion ban.

The court announced on Tuesday morning that it will only consider two of the three legal issues Yost asked the court to consider: whether he has the right to appeal a lower court’s decision to put the heartbeat law on hold and whether abortion clinics have “standing” or the legal authority to challenge the law in the first place.

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State Supreme Court Rules Cleveland Not Required to Refund Millions in Traffic-Camera Tickets

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the city of Cleveland is not required to repay $4.1 million to drivers who improperly paid traffic-camera tickets between 2005 and 2009 due to the motorists paying the fines without contesting them.

A number of drivers who got traffic-camera tickets but did not own the cars they were driving filed a class-action suit in 2009, alleging that the city of Cleveland had unfairly retained the fine money from persons who drove leased, rented, or utilized a vehicle that belonged to their employers. The claimants requested refunds of $4,121,185.89 and an additional $1,842,563.51 in interest.

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Gov. DeWine Appoints Hamilton County Prosecutor to Ohio Supreme Court

Hannah Poling

Governor Mike DeWine has appointed Republican Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Deters will fill the seat that Justice Sharon Kennedy is vacating at the end of the year to replace Maureen O’Connor as Chief Justice. O’Connor is stepping down at the end of the year due to Ohio’s age limit for judges. One may not run for a seat on any Ohio court if one is more than 70 years of age. This limit often forces the retirement of long-time justices.

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Richland County Juvenile Court Judge to Meet with Ohio Governor’s Legal Counsel to Discuss Vacant Supreme Court Seat

Hannah Poling

Richland County Juvenile Court Judge Steve McKinley will meet Wednesday with Governor Mike DeWine’s chief legal counsel to discuss a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court.

According to McKinley, as an Ohio Supreme Court justice, he would define the state constitution “reasonably and in accordance with our tradition … protecting individual rights and the separation of powers.”

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Ohio Supreme Court Justice Seat to Be Filled by End of Year

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine plans to fill the seat on the Ohio Supreme Court by announcing his appointment by the end of the year.

DeWine said it’s critical for the new justice to be named by the end of the year so that they can start right away.

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Ohio Supreme Court Halts State’s Attempt to Collect More Taxes from NASCAR

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that revenue earned by NASCAR from selling the rights to broadcast stock car races and merchandise to Ohio fans is not subject to state business taxes.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Ohio Tax Commissioner, Jeffrey McClain’s, order that NASCAR owes the state almost $550,000 for money earned from broadcasting races, online marketing, and sponsorship fees.

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