Ohio Supreme Court


The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled the state cannot continue to a certain kind of tax money for non highway projects.

The state is spending about 140 million dollars each year that it gets from the commercial activities tax on fuel purchases for things that don’t involve highway maintenance and construction.  A couple of county engineers and some businesses thought that was a violation of the state constitution because, under it, tax money collected on fuel is to go for highway purposes. 



Kasich's appointee will replace retiring Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton.



COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Justice Terrence O'Donnell has defeated Democratic state Sen. Mike Skindell in one of three Ohio Supreme Court races.

The Cleveland Republican beat the suburban Cleveland lawmaker Tuesday for a six-year term. O'Donnell joined the court in 2003.

In a second race, Republican Justice Robert Cupp, of Lima, faced Democrat William O'Neill, a retired appeals court judge from Cleveland. O'Neill had a slight lead with about 90 percent of precincts reporting.

Ohio's new private job creation entity is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to force the state to provide funding that's been expected but delayed by a lawsuit.

The budget and commerce departments agreed to transfer rights to the state liquor business to JobsOhio for the next 25 years in a deal worth $1.4 billion.


The Ohio Supreme Court will again have to decide whether a state tax, the commercial activities tax – also known as the CAT, that was created in 2005 can apply to a specific product.

The suit was filed by an excavating company, and it was joined by truckers, builders and contractors.  Anthony Ehler said the constitution requires money from taxes on motor vehicle owners and operators go to roads. Since CAT revenues go to schools, local governments and the state general fund, Ehler said lawmakers couldn’t put the CAT on gasoline sales.

The Ohio Supreme Court has struck down a state law requiring juvenile sex offenders convicted in juvenile courts to register as sex offenders for life.

Today (Tuesday) the court ruled 5-2 that the requirement enacted in a 2007 law is unconstitutional because it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and violates children's due process rights.

Justice Paul Pfeifer said the mandatory registration undercuts the rehabilitative purpose of the juvenile system.  He said it also eliminates the role of juvenile judges in determining the best punishment for young offenders.


The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge aimed at blocking efforts by a group that's seeking to declare in the state constitution that life begins when a human egg is fertilized.

A proposed amendment from Personhood Ohio would expand the definition of a person to include every human being at every stage of biological development, including fertilization.


The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the actions of police officers who pulled over a suicidal man, then
took his gun from the glove compartment without a warrant.

The court says an exception to the Fourth Amendment for people providing emergency aid allows officers to make a traffic stop if they believe a person's life is in danger.

The court ruled 6-1 Thursday that Vandalia officers acted properly when they pulled over a truck driven by Richard Dunn in 2008 after getting a phone tip that he had a weapon and planned to kill himself.