The FBI broadly defines hate crimes as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias or intolerance on the basis of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. However, Ohio’s existing hate…
Read More about Sexual Orientation Not Included in Ohio’s Hate Crime LawIn the United States, a teenager can face incarceration for life for committing a serious crime, such as a felony murder. While a June 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that juvenile life sentences must include the possibility of parole, such a sentence would still…
Read More about Should Teens Be Sentenced to Life in Prison?In April, the Ohio Legislature passed a bill that will expand Ohio’s laws on stalking and telecommunications harassment in order to give Ohioans additional protection from cyberstalking. The bill, Ohio House Bill 151, took over a year to wind its way through the Ohio legislature…
Read More about Proposed Law Set to Expand Cyberstalking ProtectionsHave you ever noticed a car driving with flashy yellow plates? Jokingly referred to as “party plates,” these special license plates must be displayed by Ohio drivers who have been given restricted driving privileges after a DUI related driver’s license suspension. In the past, a…
Read More about DUI Plates in Columbus, OhioThe Constitution of the United States contains some of the strongest guarantees of free speech in the world. Nonetheless, there are situations in which Americans can face criminal charges for exercising their first amendment rights. Since 2012, it’s been a crime to protest or disrupt…
Read More about Criminalizing Political ProtestsAcross the United States, inmates convicted of crimes requiring mandatory life sentences in their youth and their lawyers are preparing for new sentencing hearings. After last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling, all inmates who were sentenced as juveniles to life in prison without parole are…
Read More about Young Prisoners Serving Mandatory Life without Parole Get New Sentence Hearings