Court Cases

The passage of this law by inclusion in the budget bill violates Ohio’s “single-subject” rule. In addition, the law is unconstitutionally vague.

Ohio lags behind other states in denying legal standing to unmarried, non-biological parents. Many states have abandoned biological interpretations of “parent” in shared parenting statutes, while others have adopted “de-facto parent” doctrines to allow same-sex couples to establish parentage claims.

This emergency elections case is fallout from our victory in LWVO v. LaRose, a federal case challenging barriers to disabled voters enacted by HB 458.

The Ohio Constitution provides a right to counsel that is broader than the corresponding protection in the U.S. Constitution. When police interrogate a defendant alone, but for whom counsel has been appointed, they risk tricking the defendant into believing there is no lawyer available to help them.

HB458 makes it a felony for anyone not on a limited list of government workers and relatives to assist a disabled Ohioan with their ballot. This significantly impairs access to the ballot for people with disabilities and violates several federal laws.

In Hamilton County cases where the death penalty is sought, a black defendant with at least one white victim is 5.33 times more likely than other defendants to be sentenced to death. The ACLU of Ohio submitted an amicus brief in support of removing the sentence and a new trial for Mr. Raglin.