News & Commentary

Photo by Kordite at Flickr Commons.

Photo: West Midlands Police via Flickr Creative Commons

Read our previous blogs on the more recent Ohio protests, "Fallout from Ferguson: Takeaways from Two Ohio Protests," "Black Lives Matter: Marching on Washington," and "Survival Conversations."
The third step is sustaining the energy to demand accountability. If we are not vocal about a particular issue, then the public official does not know we need change. Furthermore, that public official may think we are not paying attention. Accountability must be a two-way street: the public demands and the official reacts.

The start of a New Year is a time for reflection and celebration. Let us do just that—reflect and celebrate—but keeping in mind that 2016 is going to be a big year for Ohio.

Happy New Year!
For more information about protesting peaceably, check out “Protestors: Know Your Rights!” and “What to Do if You're Stopped by the Police.”

As the end of the year approaches, what went on in the final days of the 130th Ohio General Assembly? When last I wrote about the Ohio legislature’s “lame duck” session, I provided updates on the so-called Heartbeat Bill and the lethal injection bill. From a civil liberties perspective, these were the two most visible bills but not the only ones. Here is a final update on what the Ohio General Assembly did in the waning days of this session: Heartbeat Bill House Bill 248 made its way to the House floor for a vote. However, this extreme bill, which would outlaw abortions before many women even realize they are pregnant, went down to defeat with 11 Republicans joining in to vote against it. Lethal Injection Secrecy Our members responded in large numbers when we asked them to contact OGA members in opposition to House Bill 663. As it wound its way through the Statehouse, the bill did improve via numerous amendments, but the fundamental problems that caused us to first oppose this legislation remain. HB 663 is now on its way to Gov. John Kasich’s desk for his signature. Following that, we fully expect this matter to end up in the courts. Traffic Cameras Much time was spent this session on traffic/red light cameras. The end result was Senate Bill 342, which requires cities to have police officers at traffic camera locations. This mandate will cause most, if not all, cities to abandon the use of this technology. It passed the House and Senate by wide margins and now awaits Gov. Kasich’s signature. Student Seclusion and Restraints Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly passed a bill that will improve the lives of vulnerable students. House Bill 178 ensures state regulations regarding student seclusion and restraint practices also apply to charter schools throughout Ohio. Redistricting With redistricting reform comes the hope of a legislature that more accurately represents the population of our state, which in turn, will lead to less extremist lawmaking. For that reason, you should know Ohio legislators passed a proposed constitutional amendment changing the way political districts are drawn in our state. As a result, voters will be asked in 2015 if they want to adopt these rules into the Ohio Constitution. The Ohio House and Senate will begin its next two-year session soon after the new year. As always, we will keep you updated of legislation that may affect your civil liberties.

If you are a member of the ACLU of Ohio, you are no doubt used to hearing from us about our work. Perhaps it is no surprise an organization known for protecting the First Amendment often exercises its own right to free speech. Lately, you might notice you are hearing from us even more than usual. The reason can be summed up in two words —“lame duck.” Ohio’s legislature operates on two-year cycles. The current session of the Ohio General Assembly will end in December and a new session will begin in January. Traditionally, the period following November’s general election is called a lame duck session since some members will have been voted out by their constituents. Lots can, and often does, happen during lame duck. With only a handful of weeks left, legislators rush to pass bills that were considered during the previous two years. Lame duck also is a time when controversial legislation gets rammed through while lawmakers, media, lobbyists, and advocates are distracted by the chaotic pace. The ACLU of Ohio feels it is important to notify you of these efforts, so we can all take action to protect civil liberties.

Justice Paul E. Pfeifer (Columbus Dispatch, July 22, 2012)
Revenue collected from fines and court costs issued by mayor's courts goes directly to the town’s coffers. During times of economic stress, the mayor or magistrate may not be able to look past the fact that more guilty pleas equals more money for the town. Does that sound like an impartial hearing to you?

3. Oversight and Accountability

Mayor’s courts are largely unregulated. Since mayor’s courts are a product of the legislature, the Ohio Supreme Court has little authority over them. This is especially worrisome, as the ACLU of Ohio’s April 2013 report The Outskirts of Hope noted that many mayor’s courts engage in debtors’ prison, violating the law by incarcerating individuals for failure to pay fines.

For years, the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas H. Moyer advocated to abolish mayor’s courts in Ohio. Slowly, we are making progress towards that goal. Recent legislation shrank the number of mayor’s courts from 333 in 2010 to 310 in 2013. But that simply isn’t enough.

Only two states still have mayor’s courts—Ohio and Louisiana—sure sign that mayor’s courts are an outdated system that compromises the integrity of our judicial system. Ohio doesn’t need fewer mayor’s courts or fewer cases heard in mayor’s courts. We need to abolish mayor’s courts once and for all.

Ohio’s death penalty has had a long and sordid history. Just look at the past decade: » Four botched executions. » Ten people granted clemency by the governor. » Fifty-six recommendations from an Ohio Supreme Court taskforce of experts to revamp our broken system. With botched executions and growing controversy around lethal injections in Arizona, Oklahoma, and elsewhere, a federal judge in Ohio rightfully paused executions until the state could adopt new protocols. Given all of these problems, the most recent move from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is downright confounding. What is his solution to Ohio’s execution problems? Close the curtain and keep the public out. The attorney general announced during a press interview that he was pursuing legislation that would block the public’s access to what compounding pharmacy manufactures drugs for lethal injections and the identities of medical personnel who assist in executions. He also wants to provide immunity for those individuals from professional or ethical reprimands for their participation. No matter what your position is on the death penalty, it is important to understand that this level of secrecy will be detrimental for Ohio. The government represents the people and should be accountable to us. We have laws that require government officials to provide public records and have open meetings in order to prevent corruption, abuse, and incompetence. Taking a person’s life is the ultimate punishment that the public can dole out, which means we have to take even greater pains to ensure the government does it humanely and legally. Allowing anonymity for drug manufacturers is particularly problematic. Ohio would like to use compounding pharmacies, which are totally unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration for safety and efficacy. Compounding pharmacies make small batches of drugs, with each one being unique. This means that some batches might be more potent than another, and some might be contaminated. Only a few years ago, dozens of people in the United States died from a contaminated batch of steroids produced by a compounding pharmacy. And now Attorney General DeWine wants to introduce more secrecy and less accountability to this situation? Unfortunately, secrecy is the typical reaction of the government in any number of circumstances—when problems crop up, they want to hide the truth from the people.

Have you ever wanted to know more information about how the government is operating? Do you wonder what your local city council, municipal court, or the state General Assembly is up to? If you think an open government is important, then you should request a public record. Transparency is the key to holding government accountable. Public records belong to you, the people. The government merely preserves the records for you. A great way for you to be involved in the democratic process is to request a public record from your local government. Public records can reveal discrimination, corruption, fiscal decisions not widely reported, and which elected officials are supporting particular measures, among much more information.