Justia Legal Ethics Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Supreme Court of Ohio
by
Vanessa Wells, a parent in the Lakota Local Schools district, filed a public records request seeking legal documentation related to the district's superintendent, Matt Miller, from the law firm of Elizabeth Tuck. Wells was concerned about allegations against Miller. The district's attorney, Brodi Conover, responded by providing a cease-and-desist letter but withheld other documents. Wells clarified her request to include all communications between Tuck and the school board regarding Miller from September 2022 to January 2023. Conover responded that certain communications were privileged and not subject to disclosure.Wells also requested all legal invoices from January 2022 to January 2023. Conover provided redacted invoices, omitting attorney names, hours, rates, and service descriptions, citing attorney-client privilege. In September 2023, after Wells filed a mandamus action, the district provided less-redacted invoices, retaining only the narrative descriptions and bank-account-related information.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case. It granted a writ of mandamus ordering the district to produce a demand letter from Tuck, rejecting the district's argument that it was protected under a federal settlement privilege. The court found that the district's reliance on Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Chiles Power Supply, Inc. was misplaced. The court awarded Wells $2,000 in statutory damages for the district's failure to timely produce the demand letter and the improperly redacted invoices. The court also awarded some attorney fees and court costs to Wells but denied additional attorney fees related to the invoices, finding no evidence of bad faith by the district. View "State ex rel. Wells v. Lakota Local Schools Board of Education" on Justia Law

by
The case revolves around the appellant, Jeffery Woods, who filed a legal malpractice lawsuit in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. The defendant in the lawsuit filed a motion to dismiss the suit. Woods then attempted to remove the lawsuit to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. However, a United States magistrate judge recommended denying Woods's petition for removal and remanding the matter back to the state court. The federal court eventually adopted this recommendation. Meanwhile, before the federal court had ruled on Woods's objections, Judge Heekin of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas granted the motion to dismiss Woods's legal malpractice lawsuit.Woods then filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus against Judge Heekin in the First District Court of Appeals, arguing that the common pleas court lacked jurisdiction over his legal malpractice lawsuit once he filed his notice of removal to federal court. He sought an order for Judge Heekin to vacate the judgment of dismissal. Judge Heekin filed a motion to dismiss Woods's mandamus complaint, arguing that Woods did not perform the necessary steps for effecting removal to federal court, and thus the common pleas court still had jurisdiction. The court of appeals dismissed Woods's mandamus complaint, but not for the reasons set forth in Judge Heekin’s motion. Instead, the court of appeals dismissed the complaint on the basis that “mandamus cannot be used to compel a particular ruling from a judge.”The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the court of appeals' judgment, but disagreed with its reasoning. The Supreme Court held that if Woods was correct that Judge Heekin patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to dismiss the legal-malpractice action, a writ of mandamus would be an appropriate remedy. However, the Supreme Court found that Woods did not complete all the necessary steps for removal to federal court, and thus the common pleas court did not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction to dismiss the legal-malpractice action. Therefore, the dismissal of Woods's mandamus complaint was correct. View "State ex rel. Woods v. Heekin" on Justia Law

by
This case originates from the Supreme Court of Ohio and concerns a defendant, Tyler Wilson, who was charged with attempted murder and felonious assault. The charges stemmed from an altercation at a gas station where Wilson fired a gun out his car window to scare off the other party involved in the dispute. Wilson claimed he acted in self-defense, but the trial court determined that he was not entitled to a self-defense jury instruction because he did not intend to harm or kill the other party. Wilson was found guilty of felonious assault, but not attempted murder.On appeal, the Supreme Court of Ohio reversed the lower court’s decision, ruling that an individual does not need to intend to harm or kill another person to be entitled to a self-defense jury instruction in a criminal trial. The court found that Wilson’s testimony supported the intent element for self-defense and that his trial counsel was ineffective by failing to request a self-defense jury instruction. As such, the court vacated Wilson’s conviction and remanded the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. View "State v. Wilson" on Justia Law

by
The Supreme Court of Ohio denied a request from Jeryne Peterson, the mayor of Buckeye Lake, for writs of prohibition and mandamus against the Licking County Board of Elections and its members, the Fairfield County Board of Elections and its members, and the village of Buckeye Lake and its council president, Linda Goodman. Peterson was seeking to prevent a scheduled recall election from taking place.The court found that Peterson failed to show that she was entitled to a writ of prohibition preventing the village from setting the recall-election date or preventing the respondent boards of elections from conducting that election. She also failed to show that she was entitled to a writ of mandamus ordering the respondent boards of elections to remove the recall election from the ballot. The court also denied Peterson’s motion to disqualify the village’s attorney. View "State ex rel. Peterson v. Licking County Board of Elections" on Justia Law

by
The Supreme Court dismissed Relator Mark Repp's quo warranto claim he sought to oust Rhonda Best from judicial office and to declare him the rightful holder of the office and dismissed all other claims sua sponte, holding that Repp was not entitled to relief.In 2019, Repp was elected to a six-year term as judge of a municipal court. Less than two years into his term, the Supreme Court found that Repp had engaged in professional misconduct and suspended him for one year from the practice of law. Because Repp failed to perform his official duties for more than six months, the judicial office he held was declared vacant, and Governor Mike DeWine appointed Best to fill the vacancy. After Repp was reinstated to the practice of law he filed this original action seeking a writ of quo warranto to oust Best from officer and also sought a writ of prohibition, declaratory judgment, and injunctive relief. The Supreme Court denied all forms of relief, holding (1) if a judge is absent from his official duties for at least six months, the appropriate legislative authority is allow to declare the judicial office vacant under Ohio Rev. Code 1901.10(B); and (2) Repp's remaining requests either failed to state a claim, or this Court lacked jurisdiction over his claims. View "State ex rel. Repp v. Best" on Justia Law

by
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing this original action seeking to challenge the validity of a common pleas court's determination that Huber Heights Veterans Club, Inc. (HHVC) was a vexatious litigator, holding that HHVC's failure to file an application for leave deprived the court of appeals of jurisdiction.HHVC filed a complaint against a court of common pleas judge alleging that the judge had not yet ruled on a motion for partial summary judgment. The common pleas court declared HHVC to be a vexatious litigator and denied relief. HHVC then sought a writ of mandamus compelling the judge to withdraw his decision. The court of appeals dismissed the complaint after construing HHVC's response to a show-cause order as a belated application for leave to proceed under Ohio Rev. Code 2323.52(D)(3). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals did not err in determining that there were no reasonable grounds to grant leave. View "State ex rel. Huber Heights Veterans Club, Inc. v. Skelton" on Justia Law

by
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of a five-judge commission concluding that, while she was a judicial candidate in 2020, Karen Kopich Falter committed violations of Jud.Cond.R. 4.3(A), holding that Falter's objections to the commission's misconduct findings were overruled, and the commission did not abuse its discretion in issuing sanctions against Falter.Falter, an Ohio attorney, was publicly reprimanded by the commission and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for committing violations of Jud.Cond.R. 4.3(A), which prohibits a judicial candidate from disseminating campaign material about an opponent either knowing that it is false or in reckless disregard of whether or not it is false. Falter appealed the commission's sanction. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) Falter's objections to the sanction are overruled; and (2) the Commission did not abuse its discretion in sanctioning Falter for her violations of Jud.Cond.R. 4.3(A). View "In re Judicial Campaign Complaint Against Falter" on Justia Law

by
In this original action involving a dispute between two judges who sit on the Sandusky County Court the Supreme Court granted a peremptory writ of prohibition that vacated Judge John Kolesar's judgment entry vacating Judge Mary Elizabeth Fiser's judgment entries granting pay raises to certain personnel, holding that Judge Kolesar's vacating entry arose from an exercise of judicial power that he patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to exercise.Shortly after Judge Fiser issued entries granting pay raises to court personnel Judge Kolesar, who serves as the court's administrative judge, issued a judgment entry vacating Judge Fiser's entries and forbidding pay raises and the expenditure of court resources that did not have his approval. Judge Fiser sought a writ of prohibition to prevent Judge Kolesar from enforcing his entry, and Judge Kolesar sought a writ of prohibition to prohibit Judge Fiser from making future entries that infringe on his powers as administrative judge. The Supreme Court granted a peremptory writ of prohibition that vacated Judge Kolesar's vacating entry, holding that Judge Kolesar patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to issue his vacating entry. View "State ex rel. Fiser v. Kolesar" on Justia Law

by
The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by a judge seeking to compel a county to pay for his outside legal counsel, holding that the judge was not entitled to compel the county to pay for his lawyer.In 2018, Greene County Probate Judge Thomas O'Diam issued two orders that sought to take control of a courtroom. The orders also sought to compel Greene County to pay for the legal expenses arising from the Greene County Board of Commissioners' failure to comply with the orders. After the Board filed a petition for a writ of prohibition attempting to stop Judge O'Diam's orders from taking effect Judge O'Diam filed the present mandamus action seeking to enforce his orders. The Supreme Court granted the writ of prohibition. At issue in this mandamus proceeding was whether Judge O'Diam was entitled to outside counsel at the County's expense when he did not use the process set forth in Ohio Rev. Code 309.09(A), 305.14(A), and 305.17. The Supreme Court denied the requested writ of mandamus, holding that Judge O'Diam did not follow the statutory process, and therefore, he was not entitled to have the County pay his attorney fees. View "State ex rel. O'Diam v. Greene County Board of Commissioners" on Justia Law

by
The Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition and denied a requested writ of mandamus in this original action by WBNS 10-TV, Inc. against Franklin County Common Pleas Domestic Relations Court Judge Monica Hawkins, holding that prohibition was the proper vehicle to challenge the order denying courtroom access to 10-TV that was issued by Judge Hawkins without an evidentiary hearing and that this decision rendered moot 10-TV's alternative request for a writ of mandamus.After Judge Hawkins was arrested for driving under the influence a reporter for 10-TV made a written request for media access to the proceedings in Judge Hawkins's courtroom scheduled for that same day. Judge Hawkins denied the request without conducting the required closure hearing. 10-TV then commenced an original action seeking writs of prohibition and mandamus. In response, Judge Hawkins agreed that a writ of prohibition should issue. The Supreme Court granted the writ of prohibition, denied the request for a writ of mandamus as moot, and denied the requests in 10-TV's emergency motion for peremptory writs of prohibition and mandamus as moot. View "State ex rel. WBNS 10-TV, Inc. v. Hawkins" on Justia Law