Portage County Legal News

Portage County Legal News.

Business

Proposal made to spend $2.4 billion on infrastructure, education in Ohio

Tim Keen, director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, has helped push a capital budget bill out of the House.
House Bill 497, sponsored by Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, would make capital appropriations and reappropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016 and establish the transportation building fund in the state ... (full story)

Kiss not the first to tell Rock Hall to kiss off

Graciousness is not always high on the list of attributes you find in successful rock 'n' roll stars.
Because of this, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions have sometimes brought out the worst in its inductees, whether continuing once-private feuds in public or launching criticism at the hall itself. This year it's Kiss tha ... (full story)

Looks like a bad recommendation

Dear Mr. Berko: My neighbor subscribes to The Value Line Investment Survey, which recommended the stock of Frontier Communications, which yields 7.5 percent, and Annaly Capital Management, which yields 11 percent. He gave me copies of Value Line's write-ups on both stocks, and they look really good. I recently retired and am rollin ... (full story)

Local

Murder conviction affirmed by 7th District

An unprofessional remark during closing arguments in a Mahoning County murder trial did not rise to prosecutorial misconduct, the 7th District Court of Appeals recently ruled.
Rayshawn Royal was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and a firearm specification after a jury trial. He was sentenced to serve 28 years t ... (full story)

Boutique labor & employment firm opens in Stark County

When it comes to Fair Labor Standards Act cases, Stark County-based Nilges.Draher.llc, expects to give others a run for their money.
This new boutique employment and labor law firm opened its doors on Feb. 12 at 4580 Stephen Cir., N.W. in Canton, representing individual and class members in wage and hour suits and helping employ ... (full story)

State

9th District reduces robbery conviction to theft

The judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas was recently reversed when the 9th District Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court failed to properly instruct a jury on the lesser included offense of theft in a case involving a stolen video game system.
Marcus Coker appealed his conviction for one count of robbery, ... (full story)

Life sentence stands for man who brutally murdered farm wife

The 4th District Court of Appeals recently ruled that it did not have the authority to review a man’s sentence of life imprisonment and affirmed his sentence and aggravated murder conviction.
The three-judge appellate panel found that Lee Hawkins was properly given effective assistance of counsel and found that it lacked t ... (full story)

Court rejects appeal from man who attacked ex-girlfriend

A three-judge appellate panel in the 8th District recently found little merit to an appeal that challenged a guilty verdict rendered in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas convicting Rudy Casey of aggravated burglary.
Casey challenged the sufficiency and weight of the evidence presented against him and claimed that he had ... (full story)

Bill would allow for automobile displays at schools

A bipartisan House bill that would allow a new motor vehicle dealer to display two or more new motor vehicles at an educational institution is rolling through the Senate.
House Bill 318, led by Reps. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, and Sean O’Brien, D-Hubbard, would create an exception to continuing law that prohibits any lice ... (full story)

Court of appeals denies new trial for convicted murder

The 10th District Court of Appeals recently rejected a man’s claims that he was entitled to a new trial based on newly discovered evidence and affirmed the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas ruling.
John Graggs argued pro se before the three-judge appellate panel that he had discovered a new witness to testify on his be ... (full story)

Future is unclear for report on Ohio death penalty

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio's capital punishment law would look much different if all recommendations from a committee studying it were put in place, death penalty supporters and opponents said Thursday while disagreeing with the proposals' ultimate impact.
The committee convened in 2011 by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Mauree ... (full story)