Ohio domestic violence law

An article in yesterday’s Enquirer notes that the constitutionality of Ohio’s domestic violence law is being weighed by the Ohio Supreme Court, with oral arguments having been heard last December 12th.. (Docket)

At issue is whether Ohio’s domestic violence statutes apply to unmarried persons living together, with a number of the state’s appeals courts having different ways. The 12th. District in this particular case had held that the statutes were constitutional, along with a majority of the other districts; but the Second and Third Districts held last year that the statute was “unconstitutional as applied to cohabitants because it recognizes a ‘legal status’ approximating marriage” in violation of the 2004 “marriage amendment” to Ohio’s constitution. (See State v. Ward and State v. McKinley). Alternatively, the Sixth and Eleventh Districts have held that “even though the statute creates a legal status, that status cannot be said to approximate marriage.” (State v. Rodriguez and State v. Jenson)