Bill Giving Prosecution Right to Jury Trial Passes Ohio House

On Wednesday, Ohio House Bill 265, which grants prosecutors the right to a jury trial even when a defendant waives the right, passed the Ohio House 50-42. The bill is sponsored by Republican Rep. Lynn Slaby and Democratic Rep. Sean O'Brien, both former criminal prosecutors at the county level. The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration. See the Ohio Judicial Conference's judicial impact statement, which discusses the bill's potential conflict with the Ohio Constitution. The impact statement cites Article IV, section 5 of the Ohio Constitution, which grants the Ohio Supreme Court the authority to prescribe rules governing trial procedure. The impact statement notes that in 2008 the Ohio Supreme Court's Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure decided against making the change proposed by HB 265.