Opinion ID: 4552895
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ohio’s Response to COVID-19

Text: As COVID-19 spread across the country, Ohio began issuing orders aimed at restricting person-to-person contact. On March 12, 2020, the State prohibited mass gatherings of 100 or more people. March 12 Order at ¶ 2, available at https://bit.ly/308nCso. A March 17 order further limited gatherings to 50 people. March 17 Order at ¶ 5, available at https://bit.ly/3hLCjrz. Then, on March 22, the State issued an order requiring Ohioans to stay at home. March 22 Order at ¶ 1, available at https://bit.ly/3hMb7ZH. Each of these orders contained an explicit exception for conduct protected by the First Amendment. March 12 Order at ¶ 7; March 17 Order at ¶ 5; March 22 Order at ¶ 12(g). On April 30, as the stay-at-home order eased, Ohio issued an order that continued to prohibit most “public and private gatherings” of people, but made explicit that excepted First Amendment protected speech included, among other things, “petition and referendum circulators.” April 30 Order at ¶ 4, available at https://bit.ly/309GgAl.