[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Ohio [official website] ruled Wednesday that unmarried couples are subject to domestic violence statutes [opinion, PDF], despite the fact that the law refers to those "living as a spouse." The case arose when a man charged under the domestic violence statute for alleged abuse of his live-in girlfriend attempted to argue that the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage [text] prevented the state from giving legal status to any unmarried couples. The court held that a variety of couples are included within the definition of the law, as the law refers to those who are living together, rather than those who are married. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer [official profile] wrote that:

While the intent of the domestic-violence statute is to protect persons from violence by close family members or residents of the same household, the intent of the marriage amendment was to prevent the creation or recognition of a legal status that approximates marriage through judicial, legislative, or executive action. The statute and the constitution are not in conflict.