Siferd’s Ohio Law Blog
Lima, Ohio Legal Commentary Blog
This blog is the work of Richard E. Siferd and contains his opinions – which are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. It is dedicated to the judges and lawyers who are fair-minded and try to seek justice in an imperfect system.
Blog Posts
When Is a Judge a Judge
I have a hard time believing this one. Judge O’Toole was elected to the 11th District Court of Appeals, then lost an election. So she was no longer a judge. She ran for the seat again. Here are quotes from the opinion of Justice Lanzinger.
E-Filing with The Ohio Supreme Court Now Allowed
I give this a vote for progress. One can now file an appeal with the Court in PDF format and use a credit card for payment.
Consistency Is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds. a Paraphrase from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Here are some judicial opinions in which a judge admitted he had been wrong in another case.
A Prosecutor Can Indict a Ham Sandwich
Well, in theory and in exceptional and rare circumstances this may be true. The problem would be when the prosecutor has to eat the ham sandwich.
The Ferguson Grand Jury
I am writing this before the grand jury decision has been announced. So the grand jury returns a no bill; that is, it refuses to indict the officer who shot Michael Brown.
Time to Reform the Bar Examination
The bar exam in Ohio is stuck in antiquity. The questions are screwy and the grading is subjective. Imagine that you are a bar examiner and you have to grade hundreds of long handwritten answers to an essay question.
Time to Put Open and Obvious Doctrine to Rest: Roberts v. United Dairy Farmers (court of Appeals Butler County) 2014 -Ohio- 3881.
Ohio has adopted a form of comparative negligence and abolished contributory negligence as a complete defense.
De Mortuis Nihil Nisi Bonum
“Let nothing be said of the dead, but good” is my translation. Having said that, I will violate that precept.
Ohio Two Tiered Justice System: Moretz v. Muakkassa, 137 Ohio St.3rd 171, 2013-Ohio-4656
This case is a textbook example how privileged interests get favored treatment by the Ohio Supreme Court.
In Hobby Lobby Five United States Supreme Court Justices Decide how Many Corporations Can Dance on The Head of A Pin
Yes, they are like unsmiling, somber, cruel medieval clerics debating a concept that defies common sense. Since they are on the Supreme Court they can make their own Supreme Court Sense and debate it.