The Supreme Court of Ohio typically holds oral arguments at its home in Columbus. But next week, the justices will hear cases on Tuesday morning in Columbus, then travel to Defiance County to consider arguments on Wednesday in three cases in front of high school students.

The visit to Defiance County is part of the Off-Site Court Program, the Court’s traveling civic education project. The special session on Oct. 8 will be held at Defiance High School for their students and students from four other high schools – Ayersville, Fairview, Hicksville, and Tinora.

Oral arguments begin each day at 9 a.m. They will be streamed live online at SupremeCourt.Ohio.gov and on the Ohio Channel, where they are archived.

The cases set for Defiance County:

Gun Laws
In 2022, a man carrying a handgun went to a bar with his girlfriend in Muskingum County. The man was seen on video purchasing alcoholic drinks and taking a sip of one. He later got into a fight with another customer and shot the man. The gun owner was convicted of inducing panic and illegally possessing a firearm in a bar, which isn’t permitted if the person consumes alcohol. In State v. Striblin, the Court will consider whether Ohio’s law prohibiting a person from carrying a firearm and consuming alcohol in a liquor establishment violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Traffic Stops
A Meigs County deputy pulled over a vehicle in 2019 for a traffic violation. The deputy later testified that he didn’t know the driver but had been told he was involved in drug trafficking. The deputy wanted to have his canine partner do a sniff of the vehicle to check for drugs. But he first called for backup, because there was a second person in the car, it was dark, and he would be watching the dog during the canine sniff. It took five to 10 minutes for the backup to arrive. The dog indicated the presence of drugs, and the driver was convicted for drug trafficking. In State v. Kincaid, the driver contends that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that prolonging a person at a traffic stop to wait for law enforcement before a canine sniff isn’t part of the stop’s purpose and is unconstitutional. The prosecutor maintains that the deputy checked for criminal histories and warrants while waiting for backup. Those steps were part of the stop’s purpose and didn’t delay the stop for backup to arrive, the prosecutor argues.

Juvenile Bindovers
Around Christmas 2021, a Cuyahoga County teenager committed a series of carjackings. He was arrested and appeared in juvenile court. Since he was 14 years old at the time of the incidents, the county prosecutor requested that the juvenile court transfer the case to the common pleas court to tried the teen as an adult. After determining the teen was competent to assist with his defense and not amenable to treatment in the juvenile system, he was bound over to adult court. Facing a maximum of 89.5 years in prison, the teen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. An appeals court vacated his sentence. In State v. D.T., the Court will consider whether the teen could appeal his conviction, claiming errors were made by the juvenile court, after pleading guilty in adult court.

Detailed case previews from the Office of Public Information are available by clicking on the case names throughout the article or in the list of cases in the sidebar.

In Columbus on Oct. 7, the Court will hear four appeals:

Consecutive Sentences
A history teacher in Lake County was fired and subsequently convicted for sex offenses against two of his former students. The trial court imposed the sentences for sexual battery and gross sexual imposition consecutively, for a total prison term of 33 years. After an appeal, the former teacher was resentenced to 29 years, 10 months. In State v. Polizzi, the former teacher argues the consecutive sentences violate state law because they aren’t proportional to the seriousness of the conduct and the danger he poses to the public. He says he will never teach again, he must register as a sex offender, and he has a low risk of reoffending. The prosecutor responds that the proportionality review doesn’t require consideration of the total prison term. The record supports the sentence of the former teacher, who targeted vulnerable victims and poses a danger to the public, the prosecutor maintains.

Collective Bargaining
The Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court entered into collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with groups of its employees beginning in 2012. The CBAs included an arbitration clause. As the CBAs were soon to expire in 2019, the court and the union met to negotiate new contracts. In late 2020, the parties hadn’t come to an agreement, and the juvenile court voted to withdraw recognition of the union. In Judge O’Malley v. Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 860, the juvenile court maintains that no valid CBA exists with the employees, and an arbitration clause in a nonexistent CBA can’t be enforced. Regardless, a dispute over whether a contract requires arbitration can only be determined in court, the juvenile court contends. The union cites the CBAs’ “preamble,” which requires the juvenile court to recognize the union and abide by the CBA terms until a successor agreement is negotiated, unless the union and employees no longer support unionization.

Court Deadline Extensions
A professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks and an Elyria woman had a child in 2021. In 2023 court proceedings to decide visitation and child support, the NBA player argued for $3,000 to $4,000 a month in child support, while the mother requested $50,000 a month. The Lorain County magistrate ordered the basketball player to pay $25,000 per month. He objected to the decision and filed his objections 15 days after the magistrate’s decision. According to court rules, the objections are due 14 days after a decision. In Eggleston v. Wood, the father argues he was entitled to a three-day extension of the deadline under the “mailbox rule.” He asserts that a person’s due process rights are infringed when a judge doesn’t allow a three-day extension for mail service.

Natural Gas Rates
Since 1959, a portion of the natural gas supplied to customers in southwest Ohio has been derived from propane gas stored in man-made caverns. A gas utility proposed replacing the propane facilities with a new natural gas pipeline. The company sought state regulatory approval to recover the costs associated with decommissioning the propane facilities as part of its next rate request. In 2022, regulators permitted the company to recover $29 million over a 10-year period. In In re Application of Duke Energy Ohio, consumer advocates urge the Court to block $17 million of the approved request related to abandoning the propane caverns and refund any amounts already paid to customers.