Court Cases

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.

The Adams County Sheriff searched Afroman's house. He made some music videos from the security footage, calling out the officers for their behavior. Now the officers are suing. Afroman's music and commentary are protected by the First Amendment.

The Michigan District Court held that a prisoner’s lack of cognitive capacity to access the grievance process does not make it unavailable, and so it dismissed her PRLA lawsuit for failure to exhaust. The underlying facts are horrific. The issue on appeal is the exhaustion of administrative remedies