A Franklin County judge says the Ohio Department of Health and the Attorney General have substantially overstepped their authority in enforcing the state’s smoking ban.

In a cased won by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a non-profit constitutional rights advocacy firm, all fines against Columbus bar Zeno's were vacated.  The decision renders the state's current enforcement of the Ohio Smoke Free Workplace Act invalid and will require government officials to readdress its tactics.
 
Specifically, the court determined current enforcement of the state smoking ban unduly punishes innocent business owners.  In explaining the decision, Judge Cain wrote, "when an individual is asked to stop smoking but refuses, liability is transferred from the property owner to the individual."
 
The legal center argued Ohio's smoking ban unconstitutionally deprives business owners of fundamental property rights.