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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Lake Erie ruling limits attorney general powers, group says
The Ohio attorney general is the ‘people’s lawyer’ only when the governor or general assembly direct him or her to get involved, according to a ruling by the 11th District Court of Appeals in an environmental case.
Attorney General Richard Cordray’s staff is reviewing the ruling and deciding whether to appeal it, said spokesman Ted Hart on Tuesday, Sept 8.
The Ohio Environmental Council, which joined the suit, plans to press ahead with an appeal, said OEC Deputy Director Jack Shaner.
The case involves the private property lines along more than 300 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie. In 2005, Lake Erie property owners filed suit to fight state Department of Natural Resources regulations over structures along the shoreline and to dispute where the property lines begin. In July 2007, Gov. Ted Strickland changed the regulatory policies and pulled the DNR from the case but then-Attorney General Marc Dann stayed active in the lawsuit, saying he would represent the public interest.
The 11th District Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court about where to set the property lines and also said the attorney general had no standing the case.
OEC Legal Director Trent Dougherty said the decision has implications about the attorney general’s ability to represent the public interest in future environmental and consumer protection cases.
Shaner said the court seemed to have an ideological bent and that they fashioned the decision to fit that point of view.
Eleventh District Appeals Court Judge Diane Grendell is married to state Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, who has vigorously rallied property owners in the case.
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Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to headline Ohio judicial selection forum
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will be the headliner at a forum on Nov. 19-20 in Columbus to discuss the process for selecting justices of the Ohio Supreme Court.
“The time has come to do something to address the widespread perception that campaign contributions influence judicial decision making,” Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer said in a press release on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
“Our goal is to determine whether to pursue a new selection method for Supreme Court justices and to explore the various reforms that other states have implemented.”
Moyer is sponsoring the forum along with the Ohio State Bar Association and the League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund.
“A Forum on Judicial Selection: A Time for Action” will be held at the Ohio Judicial Center and the Center of Science and Industry (COSI).
The Joyce Foundation provided a grant for the forum,the release said.
Ohio voters now elect members of the Supreme Court. Candidates are nominated in partisan primaries but appear on the general election ballot without party affiliation.
Other suggestions have included having governors appoint justices who then would have to run in elections to retain their seats.
Details of the forum and a Web site will be released in October, the release said.
