Criminal Law Firms in Ohio
Criminal Laws in Ohio - The Criminal Code
An Ohio criminal law attorney follows the latest legislative developments from the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate. The Ohio criminal code can be found in Title 29 of the Ohio Revised Code, which lists all laws for the state. The purpose of the criminal code is to define crimes, sentencing, and procedure using language that minimizes ambiguity. Many crimes are explicitly mentioned in chapters within Title 29:
- Homicide and assault
- Kidnapping and extortion
- Sex offenses
- Arson
- Robbery, burglary, trespass
- Theft and fraud
- Offenses against the public peace
- Offenses against the family
- Offenses against justice and administration
- Conspiracy, attempt, and complicity
- Drug offenses
Within chapters of the criminal code, each of these types of crimes has sentences—expressed as misdemeanors or felonies—associated with them. Some types of offenses, such as DUIs, are contained within other titles and chapters. If you have questions or have been accused of a crime, contact the QuickJd.com Ohio Legal Portal to learn more about criminal laws in Ohio or to speak with a criminal defense lawyer in Ohio.
Recent changes Criminal Law in Ohio
The criminal code is not set in stone. From time to time, citizens and legislative respond to changing conditions and attitudes and call for reforms in how crimes are defined and treated. While changes to the criminal code are rare, they often pertain to penalties for crimes.
In the past few years, there have been several bills that have changed the penalties for various crimes:
- Senate Bill 18: effective October 2007, this bill prohibits offenders from having their records sealed for sexually-related crimes such as voyeurism, public indecency, prostitution, or disseminating harmful matter to juveniles
- Senate Bill 97: effective June 2007, this bill requires the inclusion of specified information on the statewide and county sheriffs' internet sex offender and child-victim offender databases and gives towns more power to regulate residency of sex offenders
- Senate Bill 260: effective January, 2007, this bill increases the prison term when a person is convicted of rape or attempted rape and the victim is less than 13
- House Bill 95: effective August 2006, this bill introduced sweeping changes to guidelines for sentencing repeat violent offenders
Our featured, knowledgeable criminal law attorney in Ohio with the QuickJd Legal Portal, can explain how legislative developments could impact you or somebody you know.
