Yost, a Republican, had rejected the amendment’s language eight times, prompting a lawsuit from three Ohio voters represented by Capital University professor Mark Brown. U.S. District Court Judge James Graham ruled against Yost, finding his rejections overly technical. The Supreme Court’s denial upholds that decision, though Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, indicating they would have reviewed the case.

The decision clears the way for the amendment to proceed to the Ohio Ballot Board, which will review its language to determine if it should appear as one or multiple ballot issues. Proponents must then collect 413,487 valid signatures to place the measure on the statewide ballot.

The ruling could limit the attorney general’s authority to reject proposed constitutional amendment language, potentially easing the path for future ballot initiatives in Ohio. The Ohio Ballot Board previously approved a modified version of the measure in December 2024, but proponents aim to move forward with their original language.

  • vortic@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Can someone explain this for me? I’m tired and the article is both missing context and full of double negative legal filings and rulings. I’m not sure what actually happened and who is on the side of ending qualified immunity.

      • BlackPenguins@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Voters: “Bad police get punished.”

        Yost: “I don’t understand. Is this English? What are these words!”

      • Mister_Hangman@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        The next step is to make it so police officers are insured with liability insurance. And if a certain officer is a bad seed and the system wants to protect him, but his insurance won’t cover him, it comes out of their pensions. See how thin that blue line gets when everyone’s retirement is on the line for the thugs actions.

        • Wilco@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          Yes, and track those payouts in a federal database. There is already a Department of Transportation clearing house for truck driver background checks and drug test results, just add police officers to it.

      • Serinus@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        But if qualified immunity is taken away, does that mean police can be held responsible for their actions?

        • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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          1 month ago

          We’ll see. Ending qualified immunity means they can be charged, but doesn’t mean that they will be charged. It’s a step in the right direction, but the system will continue fighting to protect its own.

      • j0ester@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Thanks! This was helpful. But since they changed it multiple times, do they pick the proposal version they want? Or do they have to use the latest one?

    • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      1 month ago

      I’m sorry, I didn’t read the whole article first before posting it.

      I’ve found a better article that explains what happened and will update the link.