Ohio Attorney General Asks Supreme Court to Lift Order Blocking ‘Heartbeat Law’

Attorney General Dave Yost is requesting that the Ohio Supreme Court reinstates the heartbeat law as readily as possible, which blocks the majority of abortions once a fetal heartbeat is found.

In accordance with the 2019 Ohio law, doctors are not permitted to perform abortions once heart activity has been identified, or around six weeks into a pregnancy. The law went into effect the same day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24th, 2022.

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State Supreme Court Rules Cleveland Not Required to Refund Millions in Traffic-Camera Tickets

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the city of Cleveland is not required to repay $4.1 million to drivers who improperly paid traffic-camera tickets between 2005 and 2009 due to the motorists paying the fines without contesting them.

A number of drivers who got traffic-camera tickets but did not own the cars they were driving filed a class-action suit in 2009, alleging that the city of Cleveland had unfairly retained the fine money from persons who drove leased, rented, or utilized a vehicle that belonged to their employers. The claimants requested refunds of $4,121,185.89 and an additional $1,842,563.51 in interest.

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Ohio Supreme Court Rules Tort Damage Caps Unconstitutional in Child Sex Abuse Cases

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a state law capping the number of damages awarded for “pain and suffering” claims in a personal injury lawsuit applied to child sex abuse cases is unconstitutional.

A 4-3 decision from the Supreme Court ruled that youth victims who “suffer traumatic, extensive, and chronic psychological injury as a result of intentional criminal acts and who sue their abusers for civil damages,” should not have caps on “non-economic damages.”

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Gov. DeWine Appoints Hamilton County Prosecutor to Ohio Supreme Court

Governor Mike DeWine has appointed Republican Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Deters will fill the seat that Justice Sharon Kennedy is vacating at the end of the year to replace Maureen O’Connor as Chief Justice. O’Connor is stepping down at the end of the year due to Ohio’s age limit for judges. One may not run for a seat on any Ohio court if one is more than 70 years of age. This limit often forces the retirement of long-time justices.

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Ohio Supreme Court Halts State’s Attempt to Collect More Taxes from NASCAR

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that revenue earned by NASCAR from selling the rights to broadcast stock car races and merchandise to Ohio fans is not subject to state business taxes.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Ohio Tax Commissioner, Jeffrey McClain’s, order that NASCAR owes the state almost $550,000 for money earned from broadcasting races, online marketing, and sponsorship fees.

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