COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman has successfully blocked her abusive ex-husband’s right to possess a gun, under a crime victims’ rights law amended into the state Constitution in 2017.
The state Supreme Court ruling on Thursday reversed a lower court’s order granting the ex-husband relief under an Ohio law that allows for lifting gun limits if someone’s conviction is fully discharged, and other conditions.
In the 4-3 decision, the court said Jamie Suwalski could invoke Marsy’s Law in order to block the order involving her former spouse, Roy Ewing, who was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against her.
The law is named for Marsalee “Marsy” Nicholas, a California woman killed in 1983 by her ex-boyfriend. He was released from jail without notification to Nicholas.
The law requires police to notify victims or their families when an offender is released from jail or escapes, and guarantees a victim’s “right to be treated with respect, fairness and dignity throughout the criminal justice process” — the clause invoked in Suwalski’s case. Versions of Marsy’s law are in place in about 10 states.
Justices found that Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Peeler was not authorized under state law to grant Ewing’s request to have a federal firearms restriction lifted. The restriction was triggered by Ewing’s 2017 conviction.
The court also backed Suwalski’s right to seek a writ of prohibition from the Twelfth District Court of Appeals. She had argued there that Peeler lacked jurisdiction to lift Ewing’s gun restriction and contended that her rights to safety and protection as a crime victim under Marsy’s Law had been violated. The court found in Suwalski’s favor and Ewing appealed.
In Thursday’s decision, the Supreme Court’s majority said the writ of prohibition was the right mechanism for Suwalski to use. The majority rejected another of Ewing’s argument that intervening in a gun proceeding isn’t among the rights secured by Marsy’s Law.
Dissenting justices said Marsy’s Law did not provide Suwalski the right to challenge Peeler’s orders. They said she did not specifically claim to have been treated without fairness and respect for her safety, and that Ewing is no longer an accused person.
