Court

Last week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 20, commonly known as the "Halo Law." The legislation creates a 15-foot safety zone around first responders who are actively performing their duties and increases penalties for those who interfere with emergency operations. The law takes effect in October. Some praised the law as a long-overdue protection for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and probation officers. Others claimed it was an attack on fre

The U.S. Supreme Court issued one of the most significant constitutional rulings in decades this week, rejecting President Donald Trump's effort to limit birthright citizenship and reaffirming children born on American soil are citizens of the United States regardless of their parents' immigration status. This week, in a 6-3 decision, the high court struck down Trump's executive order and reaffirmed a principle that has been part of American law for more than a century. Ch

If you've lived anywhere near Springfield over the past few years, the city has become the center of a national immigration debate. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and others who have been living and working in the United States under a program originally intended to be temporary.

Last year, 157 Ohioans lost their lives in domestic violence-related incidents making it the highest number ever recorded by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network. Ohio cannot prevent every act of domestic violence. However, lawmakers have an opportunity to provide families with another tool to protect themselves. A bipartisan bill pending in the Ohio General Assembly, House Bill 846, would create a registry for repeat domestic violence offenders. The legislation is spons

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s announcement that he now supports abolishing the death penalty marks one of the most significant reversals of his long public career. DeWine, a former Greene County prosecutor and one of the architects of Ohio’s modern death penalty law, says he no longer believes capital punishment deters murder. He also points to the practical difficulties Ohio has faced in carrying out executions and the lengthy appeals process that often stretches for decades.

Jury duty still matters. It may matter more today than it has in decades. At a time when trust in nearly every American institution is declining, jury service remains one of the few ways ordinary citizens directly participate in government.

The biggest decisions Ohio voters will make Tuesday might be the ones they know the least about. While attention will focus on the high-profile races at the top of the primary ballot, the contests that could have the most lasting impact are further down — judicial elections that will shape how laws are interpreted across the state for years to come. Two seats on the Supreme Court of Ohio are on the ballot this year. Though primary elections often receive little attention, thi