Let’s face it — the practice of law can be very frustrating at times. Attorneys address unreasonable demands from opposing counsel, tight deadlines, impossibly broad discovery requests, and other issues that escalate stress levels and trigger emotions. A recent decision from the Ohio Supreme Court in Cleveland Metro. Bar Assn. v. Morton presents a cautionary tale about a frustrated attorney’s intemperate assertions in a Memorandum in Support of Jurisdiction filed in that Court.
Continue Reading Counsel beware of intemperate assertions in briefs; First Amendment may not save you from discipline
First Amendment
Merit Decision: Court Nixes Tax on Billboards. Lamar Advantage GP Co., L.L.C. v. Cincinnati
By Marianna Bettman on
“The city’s billboard tax infringes on the rights to free speech and a free press protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Justice Kennedy, opinion of the Court
On September 16, 2021 the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a merit decision in Lamar Advantage GP Co., L.L.C. v. Cincinnati, Slip…
What’s On Their Minds : Is An Excise Tax Placed Exclusively on Billboards Constitutional? Lamar Advantage GP Company, LLC, d.b.a. Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati, OH and Norton Outdoor Advertising, Inc. v. City of Cincinnati, Ohio and Nicole Lee, Treasurer of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio and Art Dahlberg, Director of the Department of Buildings and Inspects for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio and Reginald Zeno, Finance Director for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio
By Marianna Bettman on
Update: On September 16, 2021, the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a merit decision in this case. Read the analysis here.
“Can you tell me how the content is controlled by this tax?”
Chief Justice O’Connor, to counsel for Lamar
Who is the city targeting? Just stable billboards?
Justice Fischer, to counsel for the…
Oral Argument Preview: Is An Excise Tax Placed Exclusively on Billboards Constitutional? Lamar Advantage GP Company, LLC, d.b.a. Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati, OH and Norton Outdoor Advertising, Inc. v. City of Cincinnati, Ohio and Nicole Lee, Treasurer of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio and Art Dahlberg, Director of the Department of Buildings and Inspects for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio and Reginald Zeno, Finance Director for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio
By Marianna Bettman on
Update: On September 16, 2021, the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a merit decision in this case. Read the analysis here.
Read an analysis of the oral argument here. .
On June 16, 2021, the Supreme Court of Ohio will hear oral argument in Lamar Advantage GP Company, LLC, d.b.a. Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati…
Merit Decision: Court Upholds Constitutionality of City Curfew on Cleveland’s Public Square. Cleveland v. McCardle
By Marianna Bettman on
On May 28, 2014, the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a merit decision in Cleveland v. McCardle, 2014-Ohio-2140. In a 6-1 decision written by Justice Lanzinger, the Court upheld the constitutionality of a Cleveland city ordinance which established a curfew on the Cleveland Public Square. Justice Pfeifer dissented. The case was argued…
Guest Post on Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. Context Matters, and the Court got it Wrong About Freshwater’s Personal Bible.
By Marianna Bettman on
On November 19, 2013, in a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio upheld the firing of 8th grade science teacher John Freshwater for “insubordination in refusing to remove religious displays in his classroom after being told to do so, and for continuing to inject his personal religious beliefs into his plan and pattern…
What’s on Their Minds: Does a City Curfew on Cleveland’s Public Square Violate the First Amendment? Cleveland v. McCardle.
By Marianna Bettman on
On May 28, 2014, the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a merit decision in this case. Read the analysis here.
On November 19, 2013, the Supreme Court of Ohio heard oral argument in the case of City of Cleveland v. Erin McCardle and Leatrice Tolls, 13-0096. At issue in this case is whether…
Merit Decision: Court Upholds Firing of Middle School Science Teacher. Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. of Edn.
By Marianna Bettman on
Update: On October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States declined without opinion ( p.10, first case), to hear Freshwater’s appeal of the decision of the Supreme Court of Ohio to uphold his termination as a middle school science teacher.
On November 19, 2013, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a merit decision…
Oral Argument Preview: Does a City Curfew on Cleveland’s Public Square violate the United States Constitution? Cleveland v. McCardle.
By Marianna Bettman on
On May 28, 2014, the Supreme Court of Ohio handed down a merit decision in this case. Read the analysis here.
Read the analysis of the oral argument here.
On November 19, 2013, the Supreme Court of Ohio will hear oral argument in the case of City of Cleveland v. Erin McCardle and Leatrice Tolls…
In Sharper Focus. Guest Post on the Issues Raised in Freshwater v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education.
By Marianna Bettman on
On February 27, 2013, the Supreme Court of Ohio heard the case of Freshwater v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education, which involved the firing of an eighth grade public school science teacher, allegedly for teaching creationism in science class and for insubordination, which raises fascinating issues about both the Free Exercise…