Ohio State Supreme Court to Hear Smoking Ban Case

Ohio State Supreme Court to Hear Smoking Ban Case
An Ohio state bar has won a victory in the smoking ban debate. The Ohio state Supreme Court has agreed to hear their case about the lack of constitutionality of the state’s anti-smoking law.

On Wednesday, the high court agreed to hear the challenges to the indoor smoking ban stemming from a Columbus based case. The state of Ohio has fined Zeno’s Victorian Village with thousands of dollars worth of fines for smoking violations. The bar refused to pay the fines, and the local court ruled in the bar’s favor when the case went to trial. However, when the state court of appeals heard the case, it sided with the state of Ohio.

That is when the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law got involved. On behalf of the bar, they sought a ruling from the highest Ohio court. They say that the ban is in violation of property right law and laws regarding separation of power. While they expect the law to be upheld, they also noted that statewide no smoking ban has been overturned for violation of the constitution.

Sources: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2011/04/smoking-ban-fig...
http://zenosbar.com/