(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Following a unanimous ruling in Ohio’s favor earlier today, a national group has recognized Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office for the high quality of the office's work in the United States Supreme Court. The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has awarded a Best Brief Award to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for its work in Ohio v. Clark, which was decided earlier today with a unanimous ruling in favor of Ohio’s arguments.
"I am honored that our office has received this important award," said Attorney General DeWine. "I know that we have some of the best lawyers in the country working to protect Ohioans, and it is especially important that Ohioans have top-notch advocacy in the U.S. Supreme Court."
The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), annually bestows "Best Brief Awards" to recognize excellence in briefwriting in the U.S. Supreme Court by state attorneys. The award is meant to honor excellent legal writing and to highlight briefs that should serve as a model for lawyers across the country. The award was presented during the NAAG Summer Meeting on Thursday.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office has an Appeals Section, led by a State Solicitor, devoted to handling the State's major appeals, such as those in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ohio Supreme Court. The Best Brief Award was given to the team that wrote the award-winning brief for Ohio v. Clark, including State Solicitor Eric Murphy and Deputy Solicitor Sam Peterson. In addition to writing the court brief, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office provided extensive legal research, argument preparation, and coaching in advance of the oral arguments.
The winning brief asked the Court to overturn another court’s ruling, which had thrown out a child abuse conviction because it said the child’s statement to a teacher about the abuse could not be used as evidence. Ohio’s brief argued that the statement was allowed and did not violate the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed with Ohio’s position. This victory greatly assists prosecutors in convicting child abusers and other criminals.
Earlier Thursday, Attorney General DeWine issued this statement after the Court issued its opinion in Ohio v. Clark:
“Today’s decision is a great victory for protecting Ohio’s children. The Court unanimously decided that children telling their teachers they have been abused is not the same as speaking to law enforcement or prosecutors. This is an important ruling that preserves Ohio’s strong reporting system for protecting children from child abuse.”
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