Ohio General Assembly passes bill capping non-economic damages News
Ohio General Assembly passes bill capping non-economic damages

[JURIST] The Ohio General Assembly passed a bill Thursday that caps damages and limits certain types of lawsuits that can be filed. Senate Bill 80 will limit pain-and suffering damages, certain asbestos liability and impose a ten-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits when it becomes law ninety days after it is signed by Gov. Bob Taft. The Ohio Supreme Court previously held caps on awards to be unconstitutional twice before, and the state's democratic legislators likewise expect challenges to this new bill. Cincinnati's The Enquirer has more. The Ohio General Assembly a version of Bill 80 as passed by the House here [PDF].

THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.