Joanna Swaiss analyzes Ohioโs proposed Holly Act and its implications for bail reform and pretrial detention. She argues that the Actโs categorical, offense-based restrictions are both constitutionally problematic and practically ineffective, as they risk sweeping in low-risk defendants while failing to identify individuals who pose genuine threats to public safety. She advocates for a more measured, evidence-driven framework centered on individualized risk assessments, judicial discretion, and reduced reliance on wealth-based detention.
Ballot Access: Constitutionality of Residency Requirements for Ballot Initiative-Petition Circulators
Author: Maxel Moreland, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review The Sixth Circuit recently reviewed a case regarding an Ohio statute that required initiative-petition circulators to reside in the state of Ohio.[1] The district court declared the law unconstitutional, and the issue of a residency requirement for circulators was not challenged on appeal.[2] Although not... Continue Reading →
As Different as Violins and Violas: Why Public Records Requests Are Not the Same as Discovery
Authors: Jack Greiner and Zoraida Vale, Graydon Head & Ritchey We heard a joke the other day that went something like this. Q: โWhatโs the best way to keep your violin from being stolen?โ A: โPut it in a viola case.โ Did we mention we heard the joke on NPR? Somewhere, some classical music buffs... Continue Reading →
A Tail Is Not a Leg: Statutory Interpretation Games at the Ohio Supreme Court
Author: Colin P. Pool* It is often said that Abraham Lincoln, โfaced with some thorny issue that could be settled by a twist of language,โ would ask his questioner how many legs a dog would have if you called its tail a leg. โFive,โ the questioner responds. โNo,โ Lincoln answers. โCalling a dogโs tail a... Continue Reading →
Why Not Protect Our Elderly, Our Pensioners, and Our State Treasury? The Case for an Ohio False Claims Act
Author: Erin M. Campbell, Esq. Nursing home residents left to wallow in urine- and feces-soaked beds; a resident suffering from an open bedsore the size of a cantaloupe when persistent and purposeful under staffing leaves residents unturned and in unchanged diapers; residents suffering from repeat scabies infections; residents suffering very high rates of falls and... Continue Reading →
