Ohioans For Concealed Carry - Ohio's Premier Gun Rights Organization Since 1999

Ohio Responds To Cleveland Lawsuit

Written by Jeff Garvas
Friday, 27 April 2007
When a state statute is challenged the Ohio Attorney General's office is required to defend the law and the actions of the legislature in adopting that law. When Cleveland decided to pursue litigation against Ohio's statewide preemption law the Ohio Attorney General's Office did just that. On April 17th the State of Ohio responded to Cleveland's lawsuit. The nine page answer is relatively "boring" compared to some previous legal documents we've shared here, but it does bring up some interesting defenses. Most importantly, the State of Ohio has adopted the position that statewide preemption is constitutional in all respects. Interestingly enough the State points out that Cleveland has "failed to join all parties" required by law. This technicality probably won't result in the case being thrown out as much as having it dealt with. Most encouraging is the fact that the State of Ohio has asked the court to dismiss with prejudice (so that the case can't be brought again) and to have the City of Cleveland pay all costs. According to the court docket website a pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2nd, at 2:00pm.