Ohio
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region et al., v. Ohio Department of Health, et al.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the law firm WilmerHale, and Fanon Rucker of the Cochran Law Firm, on behalf of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Preterm-Cleveland, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, Dr. Sharon Liner, and Julia Quinn, MSN, BSN, amended a complaint in an existing lawsuit against a ban on telehealth medication abortion services to bring new claims under the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment, including additional challenges to other laws in Ohio that restrict access to medication abortion in the state.
Status: Ongoing
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Ohio
Jul 2024
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters of Ohio v. LaRose
In Ohio, HB 458 makes it a felony for any person who is not an election official or mail carrier to return an absentee voter's ballot—including voters with disabilities—unless the person assisting falls within an unduly narrow list of relatives. We are challenging the law because it violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) by making it exceedingly difficult for voters with disabilities to cast their ballots.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2015
LGBTQ Rights
Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges - Freedom to Marry in Ohio
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and Alphonse Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch have filed suit on behalf of Jim Obergefell and David Michener, two widowers, and Robert Grunn, a funeral director, in a challenge to the Ohio constitutional and statutory marriage recognition bans.
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24 Ohio Cases
Ohio
Apr 2024
Reproductive Freedom
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, et al. v. Ohio Department of Health, et al.
In December 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law Senate Bill 27, a fetal tissue disposal requirement that mandates burial or cremation of all embryonic and fetal tissue from a procedural abortion, imposing severe burdens on patients and stigmatizing essential care. On January 31, 2022, an Ohio judge preliminarily enjoined the law, finding that the law likely violates the Ohio state constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection. The victory follows a previous April 5, 2021 preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the law, because compliance would have been impossible due to the Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) failure to establish necessary rules and regulations. The law is currently blocked from taking effect. In April 2024, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint challenging the law under the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment of the Ohio Constitution. Litigation continues in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.
This lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Fanon Rucker of the Cochran Law Firm on behalf of Ohio abortion providers.
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Ohio
Apr 2024
Reproductive Freedom
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, et al. v. Ohio Department of Health, et al.
In December 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law Senate Bill 27, a fetal tissue disposal requirement that mandates burial or cremation of all embryonic and fetal tissue from a procedural abortion, imposing severe burdens on patients and stigmatizing essential care. On January 31, 2022, an Ohio judge preliminarily enjoined the law, finding that the law likely violates the Ohio state constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection. The victory follows a previous April 5, 2021 preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the law, because compliance would have been impossible due to the Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) failure to establish necessary rules and regulations. The law is currently blocked from taking effect. In April 2024, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint challenging the law under the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment of the Ohio Constitution. Litigation continues in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.
This lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Fanon Rucker of the Cochran Law Firm on behalf of Ohio abortion providers.
Ohio
Jan 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Mann v. Ohio Dep't of Rehabilitation and Correction
The CDC estimates that 1 in 3 people in U.S. jails and prisons have Hepatitis C virus (“HCV”), a rate exponentially higher than the general population. Recent medical advances have made HCV a curable condition, and treatment can be completed in a matter of weeks. But jails and prisons have been far too slow to adopt the new community standard of care. The ACLU is working to ensure that all incarcerated patients with HCV have access to life-saving treatment.
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Ohio
Jan 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Mann v. Ohio Dep't of Rehabilitation and Correction
The CDC estimates that 1 in 3 people in U.S. jails and prisons have Hepatitis C virus (“HCV”), a rate exponentially higher than the general population. Recent medical advances have made HCV a curable condition, and treatment can be completed in a matter of weeks. But jails and prisons have been far too slow to adopt the new community standard of care. The ACLU is working to ensure that all incarcerated patients with HCV have access to life-saving treatment.
Ohio Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission (State House and Senate Challenge)
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, and Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit on Sept. 23, 2021, in Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio’s newly drawn maps for state House and Senate districts that give extreme and unfair advantage to the Republican Party.
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Ohio Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission (State House and Senate Challenge)
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, and Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit on Sept. 23, 2021, in Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio’s newly drawn maps for state House and Senate districts that give extreme and unfair advantage to the Republican Party.
Ohio Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Voting Rights
State of Ohio v. Urbanek (Amicus)
Mr. Edward Urbanek’s conviction is inconsistent with federal voting rights. Specifically, the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires that states allow a voter to complete a provisional ballot when their registration status or eligibility cannot be verified immediately. Under the Ohio courts' interpretation, any voter who completes a provisional ballot and is ultimately found ineligible is “attempting” to vote unlawfully. That interpretation would defeat the purpose of HAVA and provisional ballots.
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Ohio Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Voting Rights
State of Ohio v. Urbanek (Amicus)
Mr. Edward Urbanek’s conviction is inconsistent with federal voting rights. Specifically, the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires that states allow a voter to complete a provisional ballot when their registration status or eligibility cannot be verified immediately. Under the Ohio courts' interpretation, any voter who completes a provisional ballot and is ultimately found ineligible is “attempting” to vote unlawfully. That interpretation would defeat the purpose of HAVA and provisional ballots.
Ohio
Oct 2023
Free Speech
Cooley v. Foreman AKA Afroman
After a musician used footage of officers searching his home in music videos criticizing that search and the officers more broadly, they sued him for damages and asked the court to order him to stop speaking about them. The ACLU of Ohio and the ACLU filed an amicus brief in support of the musician’s motion to dismiss the suit, arguing that the lawsuit sought to silence criticism in violation of the First Amendment.
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Ohio
Oct 2023
Free Speech
Cooley v. Foreman AKA Afroman
After a musician used footage of officers searching his home in music videos criticizing that search and the officers more broadly, they sued him for damages and asked the court to order him to stop speaking about them. The ACLU of Ohio and the ACLU filed an amicus brief in support of the musician’s motion to dismiss the suit, arguing that the lawsuit sought to silence criticism in violation of the First Amendment.