Ohio Supreme Court derails anti-blocking law

SANDUSKY — A recent decision in Ohio's Supreme Court derails one of local law enforcement's few tools to combat trains that block crossings. State v. CSX Transportation, Inc. declared Ohio's anti-blocking law unconstitutional. The decision means the Ohio law is unenforceable. The statute was designed to allow law enforcement to charge railroad companies with a first-degree misdemeanor when a stationary train obstructs a public road for more than five continuous minutes. For some residents on the Sandusky's west end, trains blocking crossings can mean a threat to their safety. When a train is present in this area, people who live west of the coal docks and north of the main east/west railroad tracks can be completely cut off from city safety services. When trains block the West Monroe Street and Edgewater Avenue crossing, fire, EMS and police are unable to respond to emergency calls in that neighborhood. Local officials are hoping federal lawmakers can provide them with relief. The city law director has drafted a letter to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur asking for help with this issue, according to Sandusky police Chief Jarod Oliver. "Obviously, we respect the court's decision," Oliver said. "Our concern is public safety. We need to be able to get to where we are needed in emergencies." Oliver said Sandusky's safety forces would adapt accordingly. How we got here In 2018, CSX Transportation, Inc. was cited for violating the state anti-blocking law five times in Union County, northwest of Columbus. The railroad company moved to dismiss the charges based on a claim that Ohio's statute was preempted by two federal statutes. The federal laws are the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act and the Federal Railroad Safety Act. The Supremacy Clause in the Constitution establishes the constitution, federal laws and treaties to be the "supreme law of the land," meaning that they take precedence over laws approved at the state level. The power to regulate all rail carriers in the country was vested in the Surface Transportation Board, which was created by the Termination Act. An exception to this is found in the Safety Act which allows the Secretary of Transportation and the states to regulate railway safety. The decision states the anti-blocking law does not fall within this exception because the anti-blocking law is not related to railroad safety. "Although blocking a railroad crossing poses a threat to public safety, a statute prohibiting the blocking of a crossing does not fall under the federal Safety Act because it does not affect the safety of railroad operations themselves," the decision states. Ohio's anti-blocking statute was passed by the state's 123rd legislature in October 2000, more than four years after a federal court determined the Safety Act preempted a similar law in Michigan. In CSX Transportation, Inc., v. City of Plymouth, Michigan, the sixth circuit court of appeals overturned a Plymouth ordinance that criminalized blocking a railroad crossing for longer than five continuous minutes.