The U.S. Supreme Court has made a quick decision on the constitutionality of law enforcement placing a GPS tracking device on the undercarriage of a suspect’s car without a warrant. The case, U.S. v. Jones, just argued in November, was decided January 23. All nine justices agreed this was unconstitutional. But they split
Commentary
Justice Pfeifer finds his Ohio Federal Judicial Soul Mate on the Death Penalty in Judge Greg Frost
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Judiciary
Update: Ohio Attorney General DeWine appealed the stay of execution order in the Lorraine case to the U.S. Supreme Court. On February 8, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift the stay of execution.
As I have previously written here and here, Justice Paul Pfeifer has really stepped up his public criticism of Ohio’s…
Justice Pfeifer finds his Ohio Federal Judicial Soul Mate on the Death Penalty in Judge Greg Frost
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Judiciary
Update: Ohio Attorney General DeWine appealed the stay of execution order in the Lorraine case to the U.S. Supreme Court. On February 8, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift the stay of execution.
As I have previously written here and here, Justice Paul Pfeifer has really stepped up his public criticism of Ohio’s…
Judicial “Unrecusal”
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Judiciary
In my last post, I wrote about recusal at the supreme court level. That’s when a justice has to get off a case because of some kind of conflict. In recent times, the reverse of recusal has emerged. We now have “unrecusal.”
One of the most common reasons a judge has to get off a…
Judicial Recusal at the Supreme Court level
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Judiciary
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to hear more than five hours of arguments challenging President Obama’s signature Affordable Health Care Act . There have been rumblings from the right and the left seeking to force Justices Kagan and Thomas to recuse (remove) themselves from this case, albeit for entirely different reasons. In…
Justice Pfeifer Signs Order of Execution in Death Penalty Case.
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
The Supreme Court of Ohio has now set two execution dates in death penalty cases. In the first of these, State v. Philips, case number 94-2208, the order was signed by Justice Paul Pfeifer as acting Chief Justice, because Maureen O’Connor was once involved as a prosecutor in this case. Justice Pfeifer is the senior…
Justice Pfeifer Testifies in Favor of Abolishing the Death Penalty in Ohio
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary
On Wednesday December 14, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer testified before the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee in favor of a bill to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life without the possibility of parole. The bill, House Bill 160, is sponsored by Democrats Ted Celeste of Columbus (brother of former governor…
Guest Post on Ohio’s Serious Youthful Offender Law
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Guest Posts
Judging from the comments at oral argument in the case of In Re J.V., (read that post here) and from the analysis of the Serious Youthful Offender law in the case of State v. D.H., 120 Ohio St.3d 540, 2009-Ohio-9, this law, which allows for blended (i.e., part juvenile disposition, part a potential adult…
The U.S. and Ohio Supreme Courts Both Tackle the Constitutionality of the Warrantless Placement of a GPS on a Car.
By Marianna Bettman on
Update: The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in U.S. v. Jones on January 23. Read the analysis of that decision here.
Both the Ohio Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court are considering the same issue—is the warrantless placement of a GPS on a car and the resulting constant surveillance constitutional. Read the posts…
More Food For Thought on the Death Penalty, this time from Justice Pfeifer, And the Prosecution Tries to Remove Him From A Death Penalty Appeal.
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Judiciary
It all began January 18, 2011 at Justice Paul Pfeifer’s swearing-in ceremony for his current (and now last) term. In his remarks, which he stated might make everyone in the room uncomfortable, he talked about Ohio’s death penalty. He said that he had concluded “that it is exceedingly difficult for this statute to be administered…