Round One. DING!

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Originally posted by Jumper69:
I see this as a shot across the bow so to speak. I don't think it will go very far in the legal system. Where I see a major challenge to the statute is when a couple, especially a heterosexual one, who are not married but in a LTR, has a partner die or become incapacitated. Then the shit will really hit the fan.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree with everything you said. I'm not a legal expert, but it seems this first challenge is somewhat of a stretch, but it is a sign of things to come.

The law will have to be rewritten to include only homosexual relationships in order for it to work.

Well, I never fault a defense atty for doing anything they can for their client. And that's the atty's thinking here- the client. Not overturning some law, not worrying about what Phil Burress or the ACLU or anyone else thinks. The client, plain and simple. And if it works, good for the client.

Now that said...

I don't spend enough time with Ohio's domestic violence law to speak with authority as to its inner workings. I can tell you, in Indiana, if you had a gay couple living together, and one hit the other, the charge filed would depend on the extent of the injury (we basically have four categories- no injury, injury, serious bodily injury, great bodily harm; the first two are misdemeanors, the last two are felonies). The charge wouldn't be brought under the domestic abuse statute, but it wouldn't matter because the level of crime would be the same if there were serious bodily injury.

And as for protective orders, you could always come in and ask for one or make it a condition of the defendant's bond that he stay away from the victim.

There may be some victim compensation that would be part of a domestic situation, but otherwise, in Indiana, it wouldn't matter much if the prosecutor charged properly.

Now, based on my cursory reading of the Ohio law, I do think it is a stretch. If you live with someone, and you beat them, you're in trouble and I don't think avoiding protective orders should be your main concern.