COLUMBUS - A cross memorial on public land in Maryland. A fight over paying Planned Parenthood with Medicaid money in Kansas. The battle over Obamacare.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office under Republican Mike DeWine has weighed in on them all. Since taking office in 2011, DeWine has gotten involved in 125 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that didn't directly affect Ohioans.
Called "amicus" briefs, DeWine's office filed dozens of opinions on how the U.S. Supreme Court should decide important cases. They offer a window into how DeWine would govern if he were elected to lead Ohio.
For example, DeWine supported President Donald Trump's immigration travel ban when it was challenged by Hawaii. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decided that Trump had the authority to limit immigration in the name of national security.
DeWine's office also supported Trump's policy of preventing minors in the country illegally from obtaining abortions while in federal custody.
These stances show support for the president as DeWine walks a tightrope between Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Both Republican leaders support DeWine's run for governor but agree on little else, as DeWine challenges Democrat Rich Cordray to replace term-limited Kasich.
But DeWine was weighing in on abortion cases long before Trump. In 2016, DeWine supported Texas' strict abortion restrictions that the U.S. Supreme Court later found too burdensome.
DeWine also endorsed efforts to cut off Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions in addition to women's health services. Laws prohibit taxpayer money from paying for abortions, but GOP lawmakers often want to cut off all money to Planned Parenthood.
Even if these cases don't directly affect Ohio, the Buckeye state might have similar laws that a U.S. Supreme Court decision would change, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney explained. DeWine, through his office, declined to answer questions on this topic.
"If Ohio has a direct interest, we are more likely to be involved," Tierney said.
But there's another interpretation: "DeWine has clearly used this taxpayer-funded office to advance clearly ideological cases, and I don’t think that’s appropriate," said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper, who ran against DeWine in 2014 for attorney general.
Obamacare in court
Democrats have criticized DeWine's approach to health care – a hot topic in the race for governor.
DeWine now says he would keep Gov. Kasich's signature Medicaid expansion. However, one of his first moves as attorney general was joining a Florida lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, which included Medicaid expansion.
"By ignoring the constitutional limits on federal power, the health care law tramples on the rights of Ohio's citizens," DeWine wrote at the time.
The U.S. Supreme Court largely disagreed, affirming the individual mandate to obtain health insurance as part of the federal government's taxing power. The 2012 case was a huge win for Obamacare advocates.
DeWine's involvement in that case was "counter to Ohioans’ basic interests," Pepper said.
Freedom of religion
Sometimes, DeWine's office weighs in because the topics are important to DeWine, such as protecting children or defending freedom of speech, Tierney said.
"We’ve certainly been involved in cases advocating for the religious freedoms of Ohioans," he said.
Ohio supported Hobby Lobby's effort to exempt birth control from health care coverage under Obamacare. DeWine defended displaying the Ten Commandments in front of a New Mexico city hall. He supported a New York town's right to start each legislative session with prayer.
In one unusual case, DeWine defended Ohio's ban on political lies in his official capacity and questioned its constitutionality in a separate filing, saying it has a "chilling" effect on candidates.
Obergefell v. Hodges
What about the cases where Ohio is a defendant?
In 2013, Over-the-Rhine resident Jim Obergefell sued state officials to ensure his name would be listed on his husband's death certificate. Obergefell and John Arthur were married in Maryland, and Arthur died shortly after of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
As Ohio's top lawyer, DeWine defended the state's ban on same-sex marriage, which voters passed as a constitutional amendment in 2004. When a federal judge ruled for Obergefell in late 2013, DeWine appealed. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately struck down bans on gay marriages in June 2015.
"Mike DeWine went to the egregious step of trying to remove Jim from John’s death certificate," Pepper said. "That’s the case DeWine chose to fight and fight and fight."
DeWine said all along that he had an obligation to defend Ohio's laws.
"It’s got to be something that’s clearly and blatantly unconstitutional for there not to be a duty to defend," Tierney said. "That’s a legal principle that Attorney General DeWine feels passionate about."
But the fight also appears to line up with DeWine's personal beliefs. In a recent Cincinnati Right to Life survey, DeWine agreed that the only definition of marriage that should be legally recognized at all level of government is a union between one man and one woman.
Some attorneys general did not defend state bans on same-sex marriage. In Kentucky, Democratic then-Gov. Steve Beshear hired outside counsel to defend the ban because attorney general Jack Conway, also a Democrat, refused to "defend discrimination."
In the end, defending the case cost Ohio $1.3 million in legal fees. In comparison, Kentucky was ordered to pay $1.1 million in fees and paid about $260,000 to outside counsel, according to a contract.
