Ohio Law

Michelle Knight, the longest-held of three women kidnapped and imprisoned in a Cleveland house for years, was discharged Friday from the hospital where she had been cared for after her ordeal. Reportedly in good spirits, Knight left MetroHealth Medical Center on the same day state officials announced that DNA testing had established that Ariel Castro, being held on kidnapping and rape charges, was the father of the 6-year-old girl born to another of the imprisoned women. Like her fellow captives, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, Knight asked for privacy.

Ariel Castro, accused of kidnapping and raping three women held captive for years in his Cleveland house, is the father of the child born in captivity to one of the victims, officials said Friday morning. State officials received a DNA sample from Castro on Thursday afternoon and worked to complete the tests, Ohio Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine announced. “Forensic scientists worked throughout the night to confirm that Castro is the father of the six-year-old girl born in captivity to one of the kidnapping victims,” the office said in a statement posted on its website.

Opposition to the Ohio law that limits the power of public employee unions has grown substantially in recent weeks, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, offering a ray of hope to Democrats and their allies in organized labor as the presidential race heats up. According to the poll, 57% of those surveyed said they would repeal the measure, known as a Senate Bill 5, while 32% said they would keep it. The difference between the...

Michelle Knight, one of the three Cleveland women kidnapped and held captive for about a decade, has been discharged from the hospital where she had been receiving care. In a statement emailed to reporters Friday, MetroHealth Medical Center said Knight had left the hospital and was asking for privacy. “Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts. She is especially thankful for the Cleveland Courage Fund.

After refusing to comment on a controversial effort by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to limit public employees' collective bargaining rights, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday delivered an enthusiastic endorsement of the measure. “I'm sorry if I created any confusion,” Romney said Wednesday at a campaign event outside a GOP office in Fairfax, Va. “I fully support Gov. Kasich's - I think it's called Question 2, in Ohio - fully support that.” He later added that he is “110% behind” the measure.

Opponents of the Ohio law that would limit public employee unions' collective bargaining power out-raised and out-spent the law's supporters more than three times over, according to campaign finance records filed Thursday. We are Ohio, a union coalition that has been leading the repeal effort, by ballot initiative, of the law that passed the Ohio Legislature in March,  has raised more than $30 million in contributions and other assistance, drawing largely on national union organizations.

WASHINGTON - A federal judge in Ohio has blocked an unusual state election law that calls for throwing out thousands of provisional ballots that are cast in the wrong precinct, even when the voter goes to the right polling place. “The Constitution demands a safety net without holes,” said U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in ordering Ohio officials to count the ballots. The ruling arose from a voting rights lawsuit, one of several in Ohio and elsewhere, that seeks to resolve potentially crucial election rules prior to November.

Michelle Knight, one of the three Cleveland women kidnapped and held captive for about a decade, has been discharged from the hospital where she had been receiving care. In a statement emailed to reporters Friday, MetroHealth Medical Center said Knight had left the hospital and was asking for privacy. “Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts. She is especially thankful for the Cleveland Courage Fund.

Pit bulls have a new best friend in Ohio: lawmakers. Elsewhere, some officials are on the other side of the fence. A new Ohio law went into effect this week that protects pit bulls from being labeled as "vicious" dogs simply because they're pit bulls. From now on, dogs in Ohio can be labeled "vicious" only if they do something to warrant it. It's a hard-fought distinction waged by animal rights activists who say it will protect the controversial breed from discrimination. However, the new law does not overturn the rights of local communities to ban the breed outright, as a smattering of Ohio communities have done, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Ariel Castro, accused of kidnapping and raping three women held captive for years in his Cleveland house, is the father of the child born in captivity to one of the victims, officials said Friday morning. State officials received a DNA sample from Castro on Thursday afternoon and worked to complete the tests, Ohio Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine announced. “Forensic scientists worked throughout the night to confirm that Castro is the father of the six-year-old girl born in captivity to one of the kidnapping victims,” the office said in a statement posted on its website.

Michelle Knight, the longest-held of three women kidnapped and imprisoned in a Cleveland house for years, was discharged Friday from the hospital where she had been cared for after her ordeal. Reportedly in good spirits, Knight left MetroHealth Medical Center on the same day state officials announced that DNA testing had established that Ariel Castro, being held on kidnapping and rape charges, was the father of the 6-year-old girl born to another of the imprisoned women. Like her fellow captives, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, Knight asked for privacy.

WASHINGTON - A federal judge in Ohio has blocked an unusual state election law that calls for throwing out thousands of provisional ballots that are cast in the wrong precinct, even when the voter goes to the right polling place. “The Constitution demands a safety net without holes,” said U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in ordering Ohio officials to count the ballots. The ruling arose from a voting rights lawsuit, one of several in Ohio and elsewhere, that seeks to resolve potentially crucial election rules prior to November.

Pit bulls have a new best friend in Ohio: lawmakers. Elsewhere, some officials are on the other side of the fence. A new Ohio law went into effect this week that protects pit bulls from being labeled as "vicious" dogs simply because they're pit bulls. From now on, dogs in Ohio can be labeled "vicious" only if they do something to warrant it. It's a hard-fought distinction waged by animal rights activists who say it will protect the controversial breed from discrimination. However, the new law does not overturn the rights of local communities to ban the breed outright, as a smattering of Ohio communities have done, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Opponents of the Ohio law that would limit public employee unions' collective bargaining power out-raised and out-spent the law's supporters more than three times over, according to campaign finance records filed Thursday. We are Ohio, a union coalition that has been leading the repeal effort, by ballot initiative, of the law that passed the Ohio Legislature in March,  has raised more than $30 million in contributions and other assistance, drawing largely on national union organizations.

After refusing to comment on a controversial effort by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to limit public employees' collective bargaining rights, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday delivered an enthusiastic endorsement of the measure. “I'm sorry if I created any confusion,” Romney said Wednesday at a campaign event outside a GOP office in Fairfax, Va. “I fully support Gov. Kasich's - I think it's called Question 2, in Ohio - fully support that.” He later added that he is “110% behind” the measure.

Opposition to the Ohio law that limits the power of public employee unions has grown substantially in recent weeks, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, offering a ray of hope to Democrats and their allies in organized labor as the presidential race heats up. According to the poll, 57% of those surveyed said they would repeal the measure, known as a Senate Bill 5, while 32% said they would keep it. The difference between the...

The favored candidate to take Rep. Bob Ney's spot on the ticket can legally do so under Ohio law, the state attorney general said. Republicans had considered how to replace Ney, who announced this week he would not seek re-election. A six-term GOP lawmaker, Ney has come under scrutiny for his ties to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist at the center of a congressional corruption scandal State Sen.

An Ohio law that would require parental notification by doctors who intend to perform abortions on unmarried women under the age of 18 is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled today. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a previous ruling, by U.S. District Judge Ann Aldrich of Cleveland, that prevented the state from enforcing the 1986 law. Earlier this week, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis upheld a similar law in Minnesota.

The favored candidate to take Rep. Bob Ney's spot on the ticket can legally do so under Ohio law, the state attorney general said. Republicans had considered how to replace Ney, who announced this week he would not seek re-election. A six-term GOP lawmaker, Ney has come under scrutiny for his ties to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist at the center of a congressional corruption scandal State Sen.

Two Ohio smokers cannot bring a class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA Inc. over the way the tobacco giant marketed "light" cigarettes, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The smokers had argued that Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris knew that cigarettes it marketed as having less tar and nicotine would be as dangerous as regular cigarettes. The tobacco company, a unit of Altria Group Inc.