{ 1} The judgment of the court of appeals is reversed on the authority of State v. Pittman, 150 Ohio St.3d 113 , 2016-Ohio-8314, 79 N.E.3d 531, and this cause is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with our decision in Pittman. O'CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, O'DONNELL, KENNEDY, FRENCH, and O'NEILL, JJ., concur. LANZINGER, J., dissents.
{ 1} This cause is dismissed as having been improvidently accepted.
O'NEILL , J. { 1} Appellee, James F. Cordell, was terminated from his employment with appellant Pallet Companies, Inc. ("Pallet") after failing a routine drug test administered soon after a workplace accident in which he was injured. Pallet concedes that Cordell's drug use did not cause the accident. In this appeal, we consider whether conduct prior to a workplace injury can sustain an employer's defense of voluntary abandonment of employment and preclude temporary-total-disability ("TTD"...
O'CONNOR , C.J. { 1} In this appeal, appellees, Ross and Brenda Linert, contend that appellant, Ford Motor Company, is responsible for the severe injuries Ross sustained in a motor-vehicle accident caused when an intoxicated driver, Adrien Foutz, struck Ross's 2005 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor ("CVPI") from behind, triggering a fuel-fed fire. { 2} We address the Linerts' claim that the trial court should have instructed the jury on R.C. 2307.76(A)(2), Ohio's statute governing...
PFEIFER , J. { 1} Defendant-appellee, Stedmund Creech, was charged with three counts of violating R.C. 2923.13; under that statute, persons previously convicted of, or under indictment for, certain felonies are prohibited from possessing firearms. Creech sought to limit how much the jury could learn about the underlying offenses upon which the weapons charges were based. We consider whether the trial court abused its discretion by not allowing Creech to stipulate to his prior convictions...
O'NEILL , J. { 1} The Ninth District Court of Appeals identified a conflict between its judgment in this case and prior judgments of the Third, Fifth, and Tenth District Courts of Appeals. The court certified to us, and we agreed to answer, the following question of law: "Does the current version of R.C. 2307.60 independently authorize a civil action for damages caused by criminal acts, unless otherwise prohibited by law " 143 Ohio St.3d 1496 , 2015-Ohio-4468, 39 N.E.3d 1268. Applying...
FRENCH , J. { 1} Appellant and cross-appellee, the T. Ryan Legg Irrevocable Trust (the "trust"), appeals a decision of the Board of Tax Appeals ("BTA") that affirmed a tax on the trust's 2006 income. The trust argues that the tax on its capital gains from the sale of its stock in an Ohio company is unlawful and unconstitutional. On cross-appeal, the tax commissioner contends that this court lacks jurisdiction because the trustee did not authorize the filing of the trust's appeal before...
PFEIFER , J. { 1} This public-records case involves an attempt by an independent entity to obtain certain law-enforcement records concerning a convicted criminal defendant whose direct appeals ended more than four years prior to the making of the request for public records. We hold that the exception from the required disclosure of public records set forth in R.C. 149.43(A)(2)(c) for specific investigatory work product does not extend beyond the completion of the trial of the underlying...
FRENCH , J. { 1} In this appeal, we consider the level of culpability necessary to hold a police officer liable for injuries suffered by innocent third parties as the result of a high-speed police pursuit. In particular, we consider a scenario in which the fleeing suspect's vehicle collides with a vehicle occupied by the third party. The Second District Court of Appeals held that as a matter of law, a police officer who pursues a suspect is not the proximate cause of injuries to a third...
LANZINGER , J. { 1} In this case, we are asked to resolve a conflict between the appellate districts presented by the following certified question: "Must the state, in prosecuting cocaine offenses involving mixed substances under R.C. 2925.11(C)(4)[(b)] through (f), prove that the weight of the cocaine meets the statutory threshold, excluding the weight of any filler materials used in the mixture " 1 We answer the certified-conflict question in the affirmative and affirm the judgment of...
LANZINGER , J. { 1} We accepted this discretionary appeal by the state of Ohio from a judgment of the Eighth District Court of Appeals that reversed a conviction of aggravated murder because it was not supported by sufficient evidence of prior calculation and design. During a bar fight, Dajhon Walker knowingly killed Antwon Shannon, and for that act, Walker was properly convicted of felony murder under R.C. 2903.02(B). But the evidence did not show that this killing was done with...
LANZINGER , J. { 1} In this case we are asked whether certain provisions of the Revised Code that make the transfer of juveniles to adult court mandatory in specific circumstances violate constitutional due-process and equal-protection provisions. We hold that the mandatory transfer of juveniles without providing for the protection of a discretionary determination by the juvenile-court judge violates juveniles' right to due process. I. CASE BACKGROUND { 2} In December 2013, a...
LANZINGER , J. { 1} Relators, the Cincinnati Enquirer ("Enquirer"); Scripps Media, Inc., d.b.a. WCPO-TV ("WCPO"); the Associated Press ("AP"); Raycom Media, d.b.a. WXIX-TV ("WXIX"); Hearst Corporation, d.b.a. WLWT-TV ("WLWT"); and Sinclair Media III, Inc., d.b.a. WKRC-TV ("WKRC") (collectively, "relators"), filed this original action in mandamus seeking the release of the video from a camera worn by an officer who shot a motorist after a traffic stop. Respondent is Joseph T. Deters, the...
FRENCH , J. { 1} This appeal presents as-applied constitutional challenges to the caps on noneconomic tort damages set out in R.C. 2315.18(B). In this opinion, we consider whether application of the damage caps to damages awarded to a minor who was the victim of sexual assault violates the minor's constitutional rights to a jury trial, to a remedy and open courts, to equal protection, and to due process. We also review and apply the statutory definition of "occurrence" in R.C. 2315.18(A)(...
Per Curiam . { 1} Relators, 11 captains and 1 battalion chief in the Cleveland Fire Department, filed this action in mandamus against respondents, the city of Cleveland and its mayor, seeking immediate cessation of the noncompetitive examination process that the city is currently using for promotion within the fire department. The firefighters' union challenged that process on the same grounds in a declaratory-injunction action in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Relators filed a...
O'DONNELL , J. { 1} Anthony Sowell appeals from the judgment of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in connection with 11 capital convictions and sentences of death arising out of the serial killing of 11 women in Cleveland, Ohio. Sometime before October 28, 2009, Sowell kidnapped and murdered these 11 women and buried or concealed them at his home located at 12205 Imperial Avenue on the east side of Cleveland. Members of the Cleveland Police Department investigating a rape complaint...
Per Curiam . { 1} Appellee Sherry L. Redwine was receiving permanent-total-disability benefits based solely on the psychological condition in her workers' compensation claim. She subsequently applied for permanent-partial-disability benefits based upon the physical conditions in the same claim. { 2} Appellee Industrial Commission determined that an injured worker is not barred from receiving compensation for permanent partial disability for a condition or conditions in a claim that...
Per Curiam . { 1} Respondent, Timothy Harman Champion of Akron, Ohio, Attorney Registration No. 0040254, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1988. In a November 30, 2015 complaint, relator, disciplinary counsel, alleged that Champion violated four professional-conduct rules in connection with a civil action filed against him by the city of Akron for delinquent income taxes. { 2} The parties submitted stipulations of fact, misconduct, and aggravating and mitigating factors and...
PFEIFER , J. { 1} The issue on appeal in this case is whether the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of an attorney and his law firm in a legal-malpractice action was appropriate. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that it is clear from the evidence that the attorney refused to undertake representation of the clients on the matter at issue and therefore he did not commit malpractice with respect to the matter. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of...
PFEIFER , J. { 1} Appellee, Omar K. James, a.k.a. Ahmad K. James, is seeking to be declared a wrongfully imprisoned individual as defined in R.C. 2743.48(A). For the reasons that follow, we conclude that he has not satisfied R.C. 2743.48(A)(5). Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals. Background { 2} In 1998, after a trial in which he represented himself, James was sentenced to 13 years in prison on various drug and weapons charges, including possession of...
