Law of Ohio

Last updated

The law of Ohio consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory, local and common law. The Ohio Revised Code forms the general statutory law.

Contents

Sources

The Constitution of Ohio is the foremost source of state law. Laws may be enacted through the initiative process. Legislation is enacted by the Ohio General Assembly, published in the Laws of Ohio, and codified in the Ohio Revised Code . State agencies promulgate rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) in the Register of Ohio, which are in turn codified in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC). Ohio's legal system is based on common law, which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court, District Courts of Appeals, and trial courts, which are published in the Ohio Official Reports. Counties, townships, and municipalities may also promulgate local ordinances. In addition, there are also several sources of persuasive authority, which are not binding authority but are useful to lawyers and judges insofar as they help to clarify the current state of the law.

Constitution

The foremost source of state law is the Constitution of Ohio. The Ohio Constitution in turn is subordinate only to the Constitution of the United States, which is the supreme law of the land. The Ohio Constitution vests the legislative power of the state in the Ohio General Assembly.

Legislation

Pursuant to the state constitution, the Ohio General Assembly has enacted various laws, called "pamphlet laws" or generically "slip laws". [1] These are published in the official Laws of Ohio and are called "session laws". [2] These in turn have been codified in the Ohio Revised Code . [3] The only official publication of the enactments of the General Assembly is the Laws of Ohio; the Ohio Revised Code is only a reference. [4]

A maximum 900 copies of the Laws of Ohio are published and distributed by the Ohio Secretary of State; there are no commercial publications other than a microfiche republication of the printed volumes. [5] The Ohio Revised Code is not officially printed, but there are several unofficial but certified (by the Ohio Secretary of State) commercial publications: Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated and Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated are annotated, while Anderson's Ohio Revised Code Unannotated is not. [6] Baldwin's is available online from Westlaw and Page's is available online from LexisNexis.

Regulations

Pursuant to certain statutes, state agencies have promulgated rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law). Notices and proposed rules are published in the Register of Ohio. [7] The Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) contains the codified regulations, and is updated by the Ohio Monthly Report. [8] [9]

The Register of Ohio is not printed, but is published weekly online. [7] [9]

Case law

Ohio's legal system is based on common law, which is interpreted by case law. The Ohio State Reports, Ohio Appellate Reports, and Ohio Miscellaneous Reports are part of the Ohio Official Reports and contain the opinions of the Supreme Court, appellate courts, and trial courts, respectively. [10] [11]

Local laws

Ohio is divided into 88 counties. The territory of each county is divided into a total of 1,309 townships as of 2011. In addition, there may be two kinds of incorporated municipalities: cities and villages. [12] Municipalities have full home rule powers, and may adopt a charter for self-government. [13] Counties may adopt charters for home rule. [14] Townships may have limited home rule powers. [15]

Counties and townships may adopt resolutions, and municipalities may adopt ordinances and resolutions, for their government. [16] Municipal resolutions and ordinances of a general nature are required to be published. [17] County resolutions are not required to be published, [14] nor are township resolutions not adopted under self-government. [18] Counties and townships may pass zoning resolutions for the unincorporated areas, and county zoning resolutions prevail over township zoning resolutions unless township residents vote to overrule them. [19] [20] Codified ordinances may or may not be found in a local law library, [21] and zoning resolutions may be purchased from the county recorder. [22]

With respect to the government of Columbus, the codified ordinances are contained in the Columbus City Codes, [20] and all proceedings of the Columbus City Council such as ordinances and resolutions are published in the weekly Columbus City Bulletin. [21]

See also

Topics

Other

Related Research Articles

The government of the U.S. state of Ohio consists of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Its basic structure is set forth in the Constitution and law of Ohio.

The statutes of the State of Ohio have established 26 departments of government which are responsible to the Governor. These departments are led by the Director, or in some cases the Commissioner, who must inform and assist the governor in the operation of the state. After the governor appoints the potential director, they must be affirmed by the Ohio Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Texas</span> Government of the U.S. state of Texas

The government of Texas operates under the Constitution of Texas and consists of a unitary democratic state government operating under a presidential system that uses the Dillon Rule, as well as governments at the county and municipal levels.

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments of the General Assembly is the Laws of Ohio; the Ohio Revised Code is only a reference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law of California</span> Overview of the law of the U.S. state of California

The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the California Code of Regulations.

The law of Florida consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The Florida Statutes form the general statutory law of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun laws in Ohio</span> Ohios gun law

Gun laws in Ohio regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the U.S. state of Ohio.

The law of Colorado consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, local, and case law. The Colorado Revised Statutes form the general statutory law.

The law of Virginia consists of several levels of legal rules, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local laws. The Code of Virginia contains the codified legislation that define the general statutory laws for the Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law of New York (state)</span> Overview of the law of the U.S. state of New York

The law of New York consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law, and also includes local laws, ordinances, and regulations. The Consolidated Laws form the general statutory law.

The law of Texas is derived from the Constitution of Texas and consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory law, as well as case law and local laws and regulations.

The law of Illinois consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) form the general statutory law.

The law of Pennsylvania consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes form the general statutory law.

The law of the U.S. state of Georgia consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated forms the general statutory law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law of Michigan</span>

The law of Michigan consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The Michigan Compiled Laws form the general statutory law.

The law of North Carolina consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local law.

The law of New Jersey consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local law.

The administrative divisions of Ohio are counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, and school districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law of Minnesota</span> Overview of the law of the U.S. state of Minnesota

The law of Minnesota refers to the legal framework that governs the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a combination of the federal legal system, applicable throughout the United States, and state-specific laws and regulations. Minnesota has its own constitution, first ratified in 1857, which provides the fundamental structure and guidance for the state's legal processes.

The law of Washington consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law, as well as local ordinances. The Revised Code of Washington forms the general statutory law.

References

  1. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 31.
  2. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 31–32.
  3. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 65–66.
  4. ↑ "Laws, Acts, and Legislation". Ohio General Assembly Legislative Information Systems. Archived from the original on 31 August 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 47.
  6. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 68.
  7. 1 2 Smith et al. 2003, p. 306.
  8. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 198.
  9. 1 2 "Ohio Legal Research" (PDF). Supreme Court of Ohio . Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Benedict & Winkler 2004, pp. 529–530.
  11. ↑ "Ohio Case Law: Where to Find It" (PDF). Supreme Court of Ohio . Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 105.
  13. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 106–108.
  14. 1 2 Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 113.
  15. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 110–111.
  16. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 106–114.
  17. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 109.
  18. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 111.
  19. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 111–112.
  20. 1 2 Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 114.
  21. 1 2 Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 115.
  22. ↑ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, p. 116.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.