In September of 2010, Maguire & Schneider was appointed as Special Counsel by former Attorney General Richard Cordray to represent the Secretary of State in the case of Lavin v. Husted, Case No. 1:10-cv-01986 (N.D. Ohio 2010). On behalf of the Secretary, the law firm successfully defended the constitutionality of Ohio Revised Code section 3599.45, which prevents the Attorney General, county prosecutors, and any candidate for Attorney General or county prosecutor from accepting campaign contributions from individuals that provide goods and services under the Medicaid program. The Complaint sought preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent the Secretary from enforcing R.C 3599.45, and a judgment declaring that R.C. 3599.45 was unconstitutional in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
On July 22, 2011, the Honorable Judge Donald C. Nugent granted the Secretary’s Motion for Summary Judgment, holding that, “the Secretary has presented sufficient evidence regarding Medicaid fraud in Ohio and the roles of county prosecutors and the Attorney General in combating that fraud to carry his burden of demonstrating a sufficiently important governmental interest to justify limiting campaign contributions.” In upholding the statute’s constitutionality, Judge Nugent went on to conclude that Revised Code 3599.45 is closely drawn to advance the sufficiently important state interest of preventing corruption and the appearance of corruption.