The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that in a criminal trial the accused has the right to the assistance of a lawyer. And we all know from listening to the Miranda warnings on TV cop shows that if the accused can’t afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for that person at state
Commentary
Battered-Woman Syndrome
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
In 1990, in a murder case in which a woman shot her husband while he slept, the Ohio Supreme Court first recognized the battered-woman syndrome as a defense in a criminal case. In that case, State v. Koss, Brenda Koss and a number of other…
Confronting Your Accuser
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Constitutional Law
Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. ___ (2011)
Oh-oh. A 6-2 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, and I agree with dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia (the content of what he says, but absolutely not his tone!). I agree with him most infrequently. And in this case, even Justice Clarence Thomas, who almost always agrees with…
Confronting Your Accuser
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Constitutional Law
Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. ___ (2011)
Oh-oh. A 6-2 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, and I agree with dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia (the content of what he says, but absolutely not his tone!). I agree with him most infrequently. And in this case, even Justice Clarence Thomas, who almost always agrees with…
Of Funerals, Protests, and Hate Speech
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary
In Snyder v. Phelps (pdf), the U.S. Supreme Court shielded the Westboro Baptist Church from tort liability for its hateful picketing.
“G-d Hates Fags.” “You’re Going to Hell.” “Thank G-d for Dead Soldiers.” “G-d Hates the USA/Thank G-d for 9/11.” These are a few of the hateful signs carried by picketers from the Westboro…
More on the Juvenile Court Election
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
In last month’s column I discussed the still-undecided Hamilton County juvenile court election. In this column, I continue to examine this race, but this time, from the perspective of the relationship of the two sets of courts hearing the case, and to look at the next steps.
One of the curiosities of our judicial system…
The Hamilton County Juvenile Court Election
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
On election night, Nov. 2, 2010, in the race for Hamilton County Juvenile Court Republican John Williams was ahead by 2,847 votes— 10,500 provisional ballots were not included in that count. A provisional ballot is one cast where there are questions about a voter’s eligibility. For example, voters who don’t have the right form of…
Searching A Cell Phone
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
As I have written many times in this column, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment also implicates privacy concerns. A person has an interest that justifies Fourth Amendment protection when that person has a legitimate, reasonable expectation of privacy in the property that is…
Searching A Cell Phone
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
As I have written many times in this column, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment also implicates privacy concerns. A person has an interest that justifies Fourth Amendment protection when that person has a legitimate, reasonable expectation of privacy in the property that is…
The Fourth Amendment, Resuscitated
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Constitutional Law
Most of the Fourth Amendment cases from the U.S. Supreme Court during the years of the Bush administration seemed to cut back its protections further and further, to a frightening degree. This has been especially true with car stops and ensuing searches. So the recently released case of Arizona v. Gant was a pleasant surprise,…