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501.03 COMMON LAW OFFENSES ABROGATED.
   (a)   No conduct constitutes a criminal offense against the Municipality unless it is defined as an offense in this General Offenses Code.
   (b)   An offense is defined when one or more sections of this General Offenses Code state a positive prohibition or enjoin a specific duty, and provide a penalty for violation of such prohibition or failure to meet such duty.
   (c)   This section does not affect the power of a court to punish for contempt or to employ any sanction authorized by law to enforce an order, civil judgment or decree.
(ORC 2901.03)
501.04 RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
   (a)   Except as otherwise provided in division (c) or (d) of this section, sections of this General Offenses Code defining offenses or penalties shall be strictly construed against the Municipality and liberally construed in favor of the accused.
   (b)   Rules of criminal procedure and sections of this General Offenses Code providing for criminal procedure shall be construed so as to effect the fair, impartial, speedy, and sure administration of justice.
   (c)   Any provision of a section of this General Offenses Code that refers to a previous conviction of or plea of guilty to a violation of a section of this General Offenses Code, the Ohio Revised Code or a division of a section of this General Offenses Code or the Ohio Revised Code shall be construed to also refer to a previous conviction of or plea of guilty to a substantially equivalent offense under an existing or former law of this Municipality, State, another state, or the United States or under an existing or former municipal ordinance.
   (d)   Any provision of this Code that refers to a section, or to a division of a section, of this Code that defines or specifies a criminal offense shall be construed to also refer to an existing or former law of this State, another state, or the United States, to an existing or former municipal ordinance, or to an existing or former division of any such existing or former law or ordinance that defines or specifies, or that defined or specified, a substantially equivalent offense.
(ORC 2901.04)
501.05 CRIMINAL LAW JURISDICTION.
   (a)   A person is subject to criminal prosecution and punishment in this Municipality if any of the following occur:
      (1)   The person commits an offense under the laws of this Municipality, any element of which takes place in this Municipality;
      (2)   While in this Municipality, the person attempts to commit, or is guilty of complicity in the commission of, an offense in another jurisdiction, which offense is an offense under both the laws of this Municipality and the other jurisdiction or, while in this Municipality, the person conspires to commit an offense in another jurisdiction, which offense is an offense under both the laws of this Municipality and the other jurisdiction, and a substantial overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy is undertaken in this Municipality by the person or another person involved in the conspiracy, subsequent to the person's entrance into the conspiracy. In any case in which a person attempts to commit, is guilty of complicity in the commission of, or conspires to commit an offense in another jurisdiction as described in this division, the person is subject to criminal prosecution and punishment in this Municipality for the attempt, complicity, or conspiracy, and for any resulting offense that is committed or completed in the other jurisdiction;
      (3)   While out of this Municipality, the person conspires or attempts to commit, or is guilty of complicity in the commission of, an offense in this Municipality;
      (4)   While out of this Municipality, the person omits to perform a legal duty imposed by the laws of this Municipality, which omission affects a legitimate interest of the Municipality in protecting, governing or regulating any person, property, thing, transaction, or activity in this Municipality;
      (5)   While out of this Municipality, the person unlawfully takes or retains property and subsequently brings any of the unlawfully taken or retained property into this Municipality;
      (6)   While out of this Municipality, the person unlawfully takes or entices another person and subsequently brings the other person into this Municipality;
      (7)   The person, by means of a computer, computer system, computer network, telecommunication, telecommunications device, telecommunications service, or information service, causes or knowingly permits any writing, data, image or other telecommunication to be disseminated or transmitted into this Municipality in violation of the law of this State or Municipality.
   (b)   In homicide, the element referred to in division (a)(1) of this section includes the act that causes death, the physical contact that causes death, the death itself, or any other element that is set forth in the offense in question. If any part of the body of a homicide victim is found in this Municipality, the death is presumed to have occurred within this Municipality.
   (c)   (1)   This Municipality includes the land and water within its boundaries and the air space above that land and water, with respect to which this Municipality has either exclusive or concurrent legislative jurisdiction. Where the boundary between this Municipality and another jurisdiction is disputed, the disputed territory is conclusively presumed to be within this Municipality for purposes of this section.
      (2)   The courts of common pleas of Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Clermont, Columbiana, Gallia, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Scioto, and Washington counties have jurisdiction beyond the north or northwest shore of the Ohio River extending to the opposite shore line, between the extended boundary lines of any adjacent counties or adjacent state. Each of those courts of common pleas has concurrent jurisdiction on the Ohio River with any adjacent court of common pleas that borders on that river and with any court of Kentucky or of West Virginia that borders on the Ohio River and that has jurisdiction on the Ohio River under the law of Kentucky or the law of West Virginia, whichever is applicable, or under federal law.
   (d)   When an offense is committed under the laws of this Municipality, and it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the offense or any element of the offense took place either in this Municipality or in another jurisdiction or jurisdictions, but it cannot reasonably be determined in which it took place, the offense or element is conclusively presumed to have taken place in this Municipality for purposes of this section.
   (e)   When a person is subject to criminal prosecution and punishment in this Municipality for an offense committed or completed outside this Municipality, the person is subject to all specifications for that offense that would be applicable if the offense had been committed within this Municipality.
   (f)   Any act, conduct, or element that is a basis of a person being subject under this section to criminal prosecution and punishment in this Municipality need not be committed personally by the person as long as it is committed by another person who is in complicity or conspiracy with the person.
   (g)   This section shall be liberally construed, consistent with constitutional limitations, to allow this Municipality the broadest possible jurisdiction over offenses and persons committing offenses in, or affecting, this Municipality.
   (h)   For purposes of division (a)(2) of this section, an overt act is substantial when it is of a character that manifests a purpose on the part of the actor that the object of the conspiracy should be completed.
   (i)   As used in this section, "computer," "computer system," "computer network," "information service," "telecommunication," "telecommunications device," "telecommunications service," "data" and "writing" have the same meanings as in Ohio R.C. 2913.01.
(ORC 2901.11)
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