Summary
The Supreme Court of Ohio dismissed this appeal as improvidently accepted, declining to rule on the merits of a request to change a sex marker on a birth certificate under R.C. 3705.15. The majority opinion was accompanied by a concurrence criticizing the dissent for inconsistency regarding justiciability and adversity standards previously applied in a related case. The dissent argued that dismissing the appeal deprived lower courts and applicants of necessary guidance on statutory interpretation and standing. Ultimately, the court left the legal questions unresolved by dismissing the appeal.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Supreme Court of Ohio should proceed with or dismiss B.C.A.'s accepted appeal concerning the authority of probate courts under R.C. 3705.15 to change the sex marker on a birth certificate.
- Whether the appeal should be dismissed as having been improvidently accepted.
Holdings
- The appeal was dismissed as having been improvidently accepted.
Key quotations
“This cause is dismissed as having been improvidently accepted.” (¶ 1)
“By refusing to allow B.C.A.’s appeal to move forward, we are leaving unresolved the questions raised in the separate opinions accompanying our judgment entry in Adelaide and we are shirking our responsibility to provide guidance to lower courts.” (¶ 10)
Factual background
B.C.A. sought to use Ohio Revised Code 3705.15 to change the sex marker on a birth certificate. The appeal raised issues concerning whether probate courts may make that type of correction and whether the proceeding presented sufficient adversity for judicial review. The Supreme Court dismissed the accepted appeal without resolving those substantive questions.
Procedural history
B.C.A. appealed from the Lake County Court of Appeals, No. 2022-L-101, which had issued 2023-Ohio-2931. The Supreme Court of Ohio accepted the appeal and held it for its decision in In re Application for Correction of Birth Record of Adelaide, but then dismissed the appeal as improvidently accepted.