Speakers deliver legal notice to commissioners alleging unconstitutional charging practices; board accepts materials

During the public-comment portion of the Aug. 28 meeting two speakers, Jessica Saxton and Tianna Wall Downing, identified themselves as civil-rights litigators from Washington, D.C., and delivered a written notice to the commissioners alleging constitutional violations related to criminal charging practices in Ohio.
Jessica Saxton said her remarks were provided “in accordance with U.S.C. rules of civil procedure” and argued that Clause 1 of the Fifth Amendment (the grand-jury indictment requirement) is being undermined by Ohio’s practice of charging by information rather than indictment. Saxton described the term “emolument violation” and urged elected officials to direct public officials to act in ways consistent with the federal Constitution.
Tianna Wall Downing said she had compiled “approximately 12,000 criminal affidavits” alleging unconstitutional charging by information in Ohio and referenced two federal statutes, Title 18 U.S.C. §241 (conspiracy) and §242 (deprivation of rights under color of law), as bases for legal scrutiny. Wall Downing said litigation will be prepared on behalf of more than 700,000 incarcerated people and asked the commissioners to review the materials. The clerk accepted the written notice for the record; no formal board action or staff directive was recorded in the transcript beyond that acceptance.