Ohio Supreme Court Justice Calls for End of Death Penalty

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer has called for the Legislature to consider removing the death penalty from the laws on the books and for the Governor to commute all death sentences to life in prison. He cited that the punishment was not being used appropriately.

http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20110119/NEWS01/101190301/1002/State-justice-calls-for-end-of-death-penalty

Ohio Sup. Ct.: You Owe Too Much Money to Be a Lawyer

As a follow-up to an earlier post about the staggering debt most law students graduate with and the slim prospects of finding a job practicing law, I am now posting a link to an article about the Ohio Supreme Court's take on a practitioner-wannabe's debt load. Jonathan Griffin attended The Ohio State University School of Law, and he applied to take the Ohio bar. After learning that Mr. Griffin's debt load was $170,000, with the vast majority of it being school loans, the Ohio Supreme Court denied him the right to take the bar exam, citing that he did have adequate plans to pay for that debt. Mr. Griffin had been working in the public defender's office making $12/hour, and, if he passed the bar, he planned to work there as an attorney. Not good enough for the Supreme Court. According to the American Bar Association, the average law student carries a debt of $91,506 from attending a private law school and $59,324 from attending a public law school. Of course, most students will also have undergraduate loans looming as well. If the Ohio Supreme Court believes that working at the public defender's office won't be sufficient to pay down these loans to their liking, then perhaps there needs to be a change to increase the pay at the public defender's office or only let the rich go to law school. Refusing to let someone who wants to serve the public take the bar exam because of educational loans (i.e. because of an attempt to follow the American dream and better himself) is wrong, pure and simple.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ohio-supreme-court-denies-law-license-law-grad/story?id=12632984&page=1

Congratulations to Justices Maureen O'Connor and Yvette McGee Brown!

Ohio's Supreme Court making strides --- Justice Maureen O'Connor was sworn in yesterday as Ohio's first female chief justice. This is wonderful news. Once Justice Yvette McGee Brown is sworn in today, the high court will consist of four women and three men. McGee Brown will be the court's first African-American female justice. Congratulations to Ohio for stepping outside of the white, male box.

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/08/copy/oconnor-takes-over-court.html?adsec=politics&sid=101