Lawriter sold to SSN Holdings Inc.

The legal research provider, Lawriter LLC, has been acquired by SSN Holdings Inc. Lawriter became a subsidiary of Collexis Holdings in early 2008.

According to a Sept. 6, 2009 blog post on The Cottonboll Conspiracy:

"Collexis acquired Lawriter, which provides online legal research to a consortium of bar associations, for $9 million ... Collexis sold Lawriter to SSN Holdings Inc. for a little more than $2.1 million in cash ... ."

Lawriter currently maintains the Ohio Revised Code web site for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

Report on invasive species in Ohio

The Union of Concerned Scientists has released a report called Invasive Species in Ohio: Pathways, Policies and Costs. It covers economic impacts as well as the environmental costs, and is full of charts and data that illustrate the damage in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. In addition, the report discusses the inadequacy of federal laws and the weakness of Ohio's laws (see: Table 5 - Ohio's Incomplete Legal Authority).

Judgepedia

Judgepedia is a wiki encyclopedia about judges and courts, brought to you by the same sponsors of ballotpedia. Judgepedia is a newer project, opening its doors in the spring of 2008. It has a Federal judiciary portal and a State Supreme Court portal. The State Supreme Court Elections page gathers all the upcoming judicial office changes for all fifty states.

The Judges in the news section for Ohio contained a link to a newly released report The New Politics of Judicial Elections in the Great Lake States, 2000-2008, issued by the Justice at Stake Campaign.

New document on public records law

The Legislative Service Commission issued a new Members Only Brief entitled Public Records Law in Ohio, updating all earlier versions. The document offers a concise explanation of the law, with an appendix listing exceptions from the public records law.

ballotpedia

To locate a quick list of all of Ohio's ballot issues, try out the information compiled by ballotpedia.org. For Ohio it lists both the certified issues on the ballot and those that did not make it. In addition, there are links to news stories, case law references, and key facts on the current issues. A list of all Ohio ballots (from 1913 to 2007) has been compiled, along with summary information on Ohio's ballot procedures and history. All in all, a great research starting point.

Ballotpedia.org is a wiki, containing data for all 50 states. There are state-by-state charts, and lots of statistics. Anyone may contribute to the wiki after registering. The project started in May 2007 and has two paid editors. It is currently sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance.

Report on poverty in Ohio

The Real Bottom Line, The State of Poverty in Ohio 2008 is a report issued at the State of Ohio's first poverty summit. The research was done by Community Research Partners for the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies. Researchers can look at the executive summary, the full report with appendices, and a power point presentation of the report.

Researchers may want to make note of Community Research Partners for the data, reports and other information compiled on their web site. The nonprofit is located in Columbus, and is affiliated with the City of Columbus, United Way of Central Ohio, the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University, and the Franklin County Commissioners.

Uniform laws

One web source for current uniform state laws information is done by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The site contains a database of uniform laws that can be narrowed by state. This database will help to identify active state legislation regarding a uniform law. There is current activity on three uniform laws for Ohio, including a new uniform law, the Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act. For a complete list of uniforms laws for the state of Ohio, it's best to use a combination of sources, including the paper set Uniform Laws Annotated.

Temporary AG appointed

The Ohio governor announced the temporary appointment of Nancy Rogers as the Ohio Attorney General. At the time of her appointment, she was the Dean of Ohio State's Moritz College of Law. According to the list of Ohio Attorneys General past and present, Nancy Rogers is the second woman to serve in this position. Congratulations!