, ,

Ohio Cities Cannot Gut Search Warrant Requirement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2023

Ohio Cities Cannot Gut Search Warrant Requirement

North Canton’s crusade for warrants to enter homes based solely on lack of consent from homeowners is unconstitutional.

Stark County, OH – The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law today moved to stop attempts by the City of North Canton to obtain boilerplate search warrants green-lighting forced search of local homes.

The action is brought on behalf of Canton-area landlords Eric and Lila Wohlwend and their tenants. The City brought suit against the Wohlwends to obtain a search warrant covering the entirety of their property after they simply declined to consent to such an inspection.

Through its Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, the 1851 Center explains that the Ohio Constitution requires true “probable cause” of a significant threat to others before courts may issue a search warrant to conduct a sweeping inspection of Ohioans’ homes.

“Ohioans maintain a fundamental right to use their own property in ways that don’t inflict harm others. This right includes the right to exclude public officials from intruding into their homes and rifling through every square foot of their kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms for no reason other than ‘just to check things out,’” explained 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson. “Tenants aren’t second-class citizens without rights: they’re entitled to the same privacy and security from government overreach as those who own their homes, and sham warrants cannot be used to violate their rights any more than entirely warrantless searches.”

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law protected Ohioans’ privacy and property rights by stopping warrantless rental and point-of-sale inspections of homes across Ohio through victories in Baker v. Portsmouth, Pund v. Bedford, and Thompson v. Oakwood.

“A finding of ‘probable cause’ to issue a warrant to rifle through Ohioans’ homes and issue arbitrary punch lists to homeowners, solely because a homeowner does not consent to that search, would entirely undermine the protections provided by the warrant requirement: a fortification against arbitrary, invasive, and harassing government intrusions onto their property, and especially into their homes,” added Thompson.

The case is pending before Judge Farmer in the Court of Common Pleas for Stark County, Ohio.

Read the 1851 Center’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings here.

###

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is a nonprofit, nonpartisan legal center dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government abuse. The 1851 Center litigates constitutional issues related to property rights, regulation, taxation, and searches and seizures.

, ,

Cleveland Heights Attack on Outside Ownership Unconstitutional

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2023

 

Ohio cities may not charge extra assessments to nonresidents who own homes within their limits.

 

Columbus, OH – The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law this week moved to enjoin the City of Cleveland Heights discriminatory targeting of nonresident homeowners with annual assessment beyond their regular property taxes.

Those who do not pay the assessment are threatened with prosecution, imprisonment, and loss of the right to lease their homes to others.

Through its Motion for Preliminary Injunction, the 1851 Center explains that the City’s penalization of nonresident-homeowners violates the United States and Ohio Constitutions:

  • The Equal Protect Clause forbids discrimination against homeowners solely on the basis of their county of residency rather than on the basis of any actual harm they cause to others.
  • The Unconstitutional Conditions Doctrine prevents cities from extorting Ohioans in response to their exercise of their constitutionally-protected right to private property and right to reside where they wish.
  • Assessments may not be – as was done here – unilaterally imposed by Ohio cities’ attorneys rather than enacted by their city councils.

“Ohioans maintain a fundamental right to own private property, to use it in ways that don’t inflict harm on others, and to live where they wish while owning it and using it,” explained 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson. “Ohio cities cannot poach Ohioans for simply carrying on business across county lines.”

The case is pending before Judge Calabrese in the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Ohio.

Read the 1851 Center’s Complaint here.

Read the 1851 Center’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction here.

###

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is a nonprofit, nonpartisan legal center dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government abuse. The 1851 Center litigates constitutional issues related to property rights, regulation, taxation, and searches and seizures.