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In a case of first impression, on March 25, 2015, the Ohio Supreme Court held that a person has standing to bring a lawsuit for denial of public records even though that individual did not make the disputed public records request. State ex rel. Quolke v. Strongsville City School Dist. Bd. of Edn., Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-1083. Teachers in the Strongsville City School District went on strike early 2013 resulting in the School Board hiring replacement teachers. An attorney on behalf of the President of the Cleveland Teacher’s Union made a public records request for identifying information (e.g. home address, phone number, etc.) of replacement teachers. The attorney did not disclosure the request was made on behalf of the Union President. The School Board initially denied the request and later provided some records, but redacted much of the information requested. [...]

Ohio’s firearm specification law imposes a mandatory three-year prison term when a person uses a gun in the commission of a crime. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that an on-duty police officer acting within the course and scope of his employment cannot be subject to Ohio’s firearm specification. The case of State v. White (February, 2015) involved an Ottawa Hills police officer, Thomas White, who shot a motorcyclist he had pulled over for a traffic stop, leaving him paralyzed. White contended he thought the man was reaching for a weapon as White approached the motorcycle. It turned out the motorcyclist had no gun. White was convicted of felonious assault and sentenced to seven years in prison. The trial court sentenced him to an additional three years in accordance with the firearm specification statute. The Supreme Court held that the [...]

House Bill 56 was introduced on February 10, 2015. The bill seeks to amend several provisions of the Ohio Revised Code that deal with the use of prior criminal convictions and criminal background checks in the hiring process for public employers. The bill applies to the State and its political subdivisions but not to private employers. Under H.B. 56, no appointing authority may consider an applicant’s prior criminal record until the applicant has been selected for appointment and the appointing authority is prepared to make an offer of employment. In other words, the appointing authority must make a conditional offer of employment before inquiring into the criminal background of an applicant. The bill does permit an exception for those positions where the Ohio Revised Code or federal law disqualifies an applicant from the positions. In these situations, the appointing authority [...]

On March 10, 2015, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (“CARES”) Act. The primary focus of the legislation is to reclassify marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act from a “schedule I” substance to “schedule II” substance under Federal law. Schedule I drugs are defined to have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment and are considered unsafe to use. The reclassification would mean marijuana would no longer be a federally-criminalized substance but would be one that has recognized medical uses but is still regulated, like opioid narcotic pain relievers such as morphine and oxycodone. To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, though the substance remains illegal under Federal law. Four states have legalized recreational marijuana. Because the substance is illegal [...]

Last January, Fishel Hass reported on Senate Bill 252. In December of 2013, SB 252 was introduced in the Ohio Senate to exempt police and fire employees from the effects of a Supreme Court decision that held that psychiatric conditions, without an accompanying physical injury or occupational disease, are not compensable under workers’ compensation. Armstrong v. John R. Jurgensen Co., 136 Ohio St.3d 58 (2013). The purpose of the bill was “To amend [the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Act] to make peace officers and firefighters diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder arising from employment without an accompanying physical injury eligible for compensation and benefits under Ohio’s Workers’ Compensation Law.” That bill died in chamber in June of 2014. On February 2, 2015, Senate Bill 5 was introduced, which also proposes that peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers who are diagnosed with [...]