March 17, 1998
Ohio Supreme Court to Hear Roundtable Suit

The Ohio Roundtable suit against state ballot Issue 2 will be heard by the Ohio Supreme Court. The Court voted 4-3 to hear the case.

"This is good news and bad news," stated David Zanotti, President of the Ohio Roundtable. "We realized this suit would eventually reach the Supreme Court, but we are very troubled that the Court denied us the right to a trial at the County and Appellate court levels. We are also disappointed that we were denied the opportunity for an oral argument before the Court even before we requested one."

Filings for this landmark case must be completed by Friday. The Roundtable is asking the Court to remove Issue 2 from the ballot because the Legislature violated the Constitution by placing a mere statute on the ballot - not a Constitutional amendment. This has never been done before in Ohio history.

Issue 2 is not a binding measure. The Legislature can change the law at will, thus rendering the vote of the people meaningless. In addition, Issue 2 only represents one-half of the actual bill (HB 697) passed by the Legislature. The second half will not appear on the ballot. Issue 2 also violates disclosure and ballot language provisions on the Constituion and actually strips citizens of the right to appeal the law via a referendum.

"We have provided the Court with four airtight arguments," Zanotti added. "Any single argument should suffice to throw this measure out. We only hope the Court will seriously consider this case and protect the rights of voters over the political interests of the Republican leadership in Columbus. If this measure reaches the ballot, a dangerous and unpredicable precedent will be established at great harm to the intent of Ohio's Constitution."

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