Due Process

11.20.15

Ohio Must Stop Executions of People with Severe Mental Illness

By Chris Geggie

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio supports a bipartisan bill which seeks to spare those with severe and persistent mental illness from facing execution in the state of Ohio. This bill came out of the Ohio Supreme Court Task Force, which recommends an end to this barbaric practice.

11.04.15

Let’s End Theft by Law Enforcement

By Mike Brickner

Without ever being charged with a crime, you can have your property permanently seized and sold for profit to subsidize law enforcement agency budgets in Ohio. This practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, gives law enforcement agencies the ability to take any asset–such as cash, vehicles, real estate and other personal property–without a warrant, a conviction, or even criminal charges.

09.18.15

Ohio Women’s Reproductive Rights Are in Jeopardy

By Steve David

Legislation introduced in the Ohio Statehouse will tighten the regulations on abortion in an attempt to circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision Roe v. Wade (1973) that the outright banning of abortion is unconstitutional. If passed, these laws would make Ohio second only to Texas in abortion regulation.

05.04.15

Is the Supreme Court Ready to Make Marriage Equality the Law of the Land?

By Shakyra Diaz

Oral arguments provide a small window into the super-secretive process of Supreme Court deliberations. Justices frequently telegraph their views on the case in the questions they ask and their reactions to the attorneys’ answers.

These often-feisty exchanges between justices and attorneys–and sometimes between the justices themselves–do not, however, always predict how the Court will rule.

04.01.15

Obergefell v. Hodges: What’s Wrong With the State’s Argument?

By Lisa Wurm

Ohio has urged U.S. Supreme Court justices to reject marriage equality by deferring to the “democratic process” that resulted in Ohio’s 2004 bans on the licensing and recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages.

In the brief filed last week, Ohio Attorney General Michael DeWine also reframed the litigation before the Court as a debate over “social change.”

The state reliance on these two themes crumbles under closer examination.

02.24.15

American Bar Association Opposes Automatic Shackling of Juveniles in Court

By Shakyra Diaz

This is the fourth in a series of posts on the topic of juvenile shackling.

More often than not, progress happens in steps. That was certainly true of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) evolving policy on juvenile justice.

In 2014, the ABA passed a resolution urging the “development of trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches and practices on behalf of justice system involved children and youth who have been exposed to violence, including child abuse and neglect or other crimes and those subject to delinquency or status offence proceedings.”

The resolution also noted that, “Some routine juvenile justice practices, such as solitary confinement, isolation, and restraint, can further traumatize youth and cause them additional harm.”

Read What is Shackling?

10.24.14

Ebola Does Not Require Government to Choose between Safety and Freedom

By Tim Cable

Susan J. Becker is a member of the ACLU of Ohio board of directors and a volunteer attorney in the Cleveland office.

When faced with a major health threat in this country, elected and appointed officials charged with protecting public health tend to employ a false dichotomy.

10.02.14

Worse Than Adults: The Shackling of Youth in Juvenile Court

By Shakyra Diaz

This is the second in a series of posts on the topic of juvenile shackling.

“I have worn physical restraints while in the court room and meeting with my attorney. It doesn’t make you feel like anybody really cares about you and you are being treated like an animal.

04.15.14

One Step Closer to Ohio Marriage Equality

By wluby

This week, Federal Judge Timothy Black ruled that Ohio must recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who are legally married in other states.

The decision does not require Ohio to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  It only requires Ohio to recognize marriages performed in other states.