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Marianna Brown Bettman
Marianna Brown Bettman is a law professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she teaches torts, legal ethics, and a seminar on the Supreme Court of Ohio. She is also a former Ohio state court of appeals judge. Each September since 2003, she has given a presentation at the Ohio Judicial Conference analyzing the year’s most important cases from the Supreme Court of Ohio. She also provides appellate consulting services to attorneys.
Category Archives: In Sharper Focus
In Sharper Focus: The Contentious Life of Statutes of Repose
Tracy Ruther, v. George Kaiser, D.O., et al, challenges the constitutionality of the medical malpractice statute of repose. Let’s take a closer look at statutes of repose.
Both statutes of repose and statutes of limitations can bar a claim, … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus: Regulatory Takings
This post was written by Student Contributor Greg Kendall, a second year student at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
In two cases it recently heard, the Ohio Supreme Court has been asked to apply the doctrine of regulatory … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus: Defining Recklessness
In two torts cases it has heard recently, Burlingame v. Estate of Burlingame, and Estate of Anderson v. City of Massillon, the Supreme Court of Ohio is tackling the definition of recklessness in order to determine whether firefighters … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus: The U.S. Supreme Court has been saying Juveniles Really Are Different
The case of In re M.W., 2011-0215, argued on December 6, raised once again the argument that when it comes to crime and punishment, juveniles are different from adults. Here are a trio of recent U.S.Surpeme Court decisions on … Continue reading
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In Sharper Focus: Understanding the Constitutional Challenges to Ohio’s Serious Youthful Offender Statute
Ohio’s Serious Youthful Offender statute works like this. The statute allows for a “blended” sentence, which is part juvenile disposition, part adult sentence. First, if warranted, in addition to the juvenile disposition, the juvenile judge imposes a stayed adult sentence … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus: Registration Requirements for Ohio Sex Offenders Under Ohio’s Version of Megan’s Law and the Adam Walsh Act.
The Supreme Court of Ohio has signaled its intent to further address some issues dealing with failure to register under Ohio’s version of Megan’s Law and the Adam Walsh Act.
In 1994, when a convicted New Jersey sex offender raped … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus: Substituting an Alternate Juror During Deliberations in Non-Captial Cases
In State v. Gunnell, the trial court granted a mistrial in a non-capital murder case because during deliberations one of the … Continue reading
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Introducing “In Sharper Focus”
I’ve added the category “In Sharper Focus” to my Ohio Supreme Court Watch. From time to time, I will do a more detailed analysis of a point that comes up either at oral argument or in a merit decision. In … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus: The New Judicial Federalism in Ohio.
In State v. Johnson, Justice Lanzinger asked whether the Ohio Constitution provides greater protection than the federal constitution requires. What did she mean by that? Let’s look at that In Sharper Focus.
In 1975, in Oregon v. Hass, … Continue reading
In Sharper Focus—No More “Zealous Representation” Talk
Back in the day, before Feb 1, 2007 when the Supreme Court of Ohio adopted the Model Rules-based Rules of Professional Conduct, Ohio had a Code of Professional Responsibility, made up of canons, disciplinary rules, and ethical considerations. DR7-101 was … Continue reading →