In State v. Williams the Ohio Supreme Court continues its long-running debate about whether the community registration and notification requirements of sex-offender statutes are punitive or remedial. At issue specifically is whether a convicted sex-offender can be re-classified under a newer, more stringent law than the one in effect at the time he committed the
Due Process Rights at a Civil Contempt Hearing
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Constitutional Law, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
In my July 13 post I discussed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Turner v. Rogers , in which the high court discussed the procedural safeguards necessary to meet due process in a civil contempt hearing in which a non-paying parent could be sent to jail. While a court-appointed lawyer was not required in the…
Should A “Deadbeat Dad” get a Court-Appointed Lawyer Before Being Jailed for Non-Support
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Commentary, Constitutional Law
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…
Guest Post on Battered-Woman Syndrome
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Guest Posts, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
On June 14 I posted my column on the Ohio Supreme Court decision in State v. Goff, in which the Court was faced with the issue of whether a woman who had murdered her husband and raised the battered-woman syndrome as a defense could be compelled to submit to a psychiatric examination by the…
Is it time to revisit the clarity/jeopardy analysis for wrongful discharge torts?
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Ohio Supreme Court Watch
Let’s have some conversation about the Ohio Supreme Court decision in Sutton v. Tomco Machining, Inc., Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-2723.http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2011/2011-ohio-2723.pdf).
The Court decided this case June 9.
DeWayne Sutton was fired within an hour of telling the Tomco company president of an on-the-job injury. The president gave Sutton no reason for firing…
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…