City of Xenia v. Schmidt

Citations

• 101 Ohio St. (N.S.) 437

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law — Presumption of validity of legislation— Classification of persons, things, etc. — Legislative powers and limitations— Temporary and permanent street obstructions — Classification in municipal ordinance valid, when — Equal protection of laws — Legislation valid although scope limited.</p> <p>1. A legislative act is presumed in law to be within the constitutional power of the body making it, whether that body be a municipal or a state legislative body.</p> <p>2. That presumption of validity of such legislative enactment cannot be overcome unless it appear that there is a clear conflict between the legislation in question and some particular provision or provisions of the constitution.</p> <p>3. Legislation, in order to be definite and certain, must either expressly, or by clear implication, classify the persons, .things, conditions and the like, upon which the law shall operate.</p> <p>4. Classification is an inherent right and power in legislation, limited only by the constitution and the judicial constructions thereunder.</p> <p>5. A classification must not be arbitrary, artificial, or evasive, but there must be a real and substantial distinction in the nature of the class or classes upon which the law operates.</p> <p>6. In respect to such distinctions, the legislative body has a wide discretion, and the legislation involving classification will not therefore be held invalid unless the classification attempted is clearly and obviously unreasonable to the point of discriminating against members of the same class, so as to deny them the equal protection of the laws.</p> <p>7. A classification of street obstructions into temporary and permanent, and providing that the ordinance shall operate only upon temporary obstructions, is a real and reasonable classification, and does not violate any provision of state or federal constitution.</p> <p>8. The guarantee of “equal protection of the laws” under our constitutions is fully complied with when the