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Cleveland Law Library Weblog 
Summarizes news of interest to the local legal community. New Cleveland Ordinances and important local court cases (local municipal courts, Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, Eighth District Court of Appeals) are highlighted along with some Ohio Supreme Court, Sixth Circuit cases, U.S. Supreme Court and State and Federal Statutes.
Post Frequency: 0.8/day Last Entry: November 17, 2009 at 13:33:46 Recent Entries: 275
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Nancy A. Fuerst Elected New Cuyahoga CP Administrative Judge
Posted on November 17, 2009As they do every November pursuant to local rule, the Judges of the Common Pleas Court for Cuyahoga County have elected a new Administrative Judges. This year, it is Judge Nancy A. Fuerst, whose term will begin on January 1,...
Ohio Supreme Court Adopts New Pro Hac Vice Rules, effective 1/1/2011
Posted on November 10, 2009Effective 1/1/11 (not 1/1/10), the Ohio Supreme Court will significantly chang the rules for out-of-state lawyers who want to be admitted to practice for a limited purpose in an Ohio case. Under amendments to Rule XII of the Rules for...
Comments Sought on Proposed Amendments to Federal Bankruptcy, Criminal and Evidence Rules
Posted on November 10, 2009Public comments are being accepted until February 10, 2010 on proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankrutpcy and Criminal Procedure, as well as proposed style revisions to the Federal Rules of Evidence. Some of the proposed bankruptcy rule changes...
Law Firm Slogans Can Be Catchy or Profound
Posted on November 10, 2009The Stem Legal Blog has collected some of the most creative and profound legal slogans from the United States, the U.K. and Canada.Two local firms that made the list employ the following taglines to entice clients: Baker & Hostetler-Counsel to...
November is National Adoption Month
Posted on November 09, 2009The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) is promoting November as National Adoption Month to encourage people to become adoptive parents and thank those who have already heard the call. Click here to read the ODJFS flyer, which...
Ohio Supreme Court Suspends Less Than 1% of Ohio Attorneys
Posted on November 09, 2009Most of Ohio's attorneys got their biennial registrations in on time this year. The Ohio Supreme Court only had to suspend 233 attorneys state-wide, which is less than 1% of the total attorneys registered in Ohio, i.e., 57,311. Click here...
Women Still Under-representated as Law Firm Partners
Posted on November 09, 2009A brand new study on law.com indicates that women lawyers are still way behind their male counter-parts when it comes to making partner. Although women graduate from law schools as often as men, only 19.2% of partners across the country...
Almost 1,000 Pass the Ohio Bar Exam
Posted on November 02, 2009In typical Halloween-time tradition, the July Ohio Bar Exam results are out. According to the Ohio Supreme Court, almost 1,000 candidates passed the July 2009 bar exam at the rate of 81.3% of all test takers. First-timers scored a little...
Last Day for Attorneys to Register with Ohio Supreme Court
Posted on November 02, 2009Today is the last day attorneys can register late with the Ohio Supreme Court. The Ohio Supreme Court has warned that it will suspend all attorneys who do not pay their $350 biennial registration plus a $50 late fee by...
Jones Day Partner Rawson to Continue as Case Law School Dean
Posted on October 29, 2009The Plain Dealer reports that Jones Day partner, Robert Rawson, will continue as the Dean of the Case Law School until mid-2011. High on his list of priorities for the remainder of his tenure are creating a strategic plan, raising...
Online Criminal Docket Coming to Cleveland Muni Court
Posted on October 28, 2009Although a recent Plain Dealer article predicts a later date in 2010, the October 27th issue of the Daily Legal News reports that Cleveland Municipal Court will be launching public access to a new online criminal docket next week on...
ABA Promoting National Pro Bono Week
Posted on October 28, 2009We are now almost mid-way through the first national Pro Bono Week, which is being sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. The ABA's initiative is dedicated to finding more lawyers to provide pro bono...
Indigent California Residents Now Have Right to an Attorney in Certain Civil Cases
Posted on October 28, 2009California has become the first state to provide indigent residents with the right to an attorney in certain civil cases. The law which Governor Schwarzenegger signed is being called "civil Gideon" and provides a right to counsel in child custody,...
Contracts for Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center Approved
Posted on October 26, 2009The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Cuyahoga County has approved $29 million in contracts for construction of a new Juvenile Justice Center. Approval had been delayed based on allegations of corruption in the bidding process, but some of the work...
Local Municipal Judgeships Up for Election
Posted on October 26, 2009Next week on November 3rd, several area municipal court judgeships will be up for election at the polls. Three candidates are running for 1 judicial seat in Bedford, but there is only 1 contested race of the 5 races in...
Guidance Issued by Ohio SCt. on Domestic Violence in Later Life
Posted on October 26, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court has issued a short report on domestic violence in later life. The report contrasts this type of violence with elder abuse against persons over 60. The report then defines the markers of domestic violence, identifies the...
Northern District of Ohio Federal Court Adopts Local Patent Rules
Posted on October 23, 2009The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has just adopted Local Patent Rules. These rules were the project of a Local Patent Committee and the Northern District of Ohio Advisory Group. The Rules contain an Appendix...
OSBA and OJI Publish New Jury Instructions
Posted on October 06, 2009The recent issue of OBAR reports that the Ohio State Bar Association has puslished new jury instructions on Casemaker, including those covering Ohio ethics law conflicts of interest (O.R.C. sec. 102.03(E), common law defenses-duress, diminution of value, breach of confidentiality,...
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Drunk Driving Jail Time
Posted on October 02, 2009On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 10-day jail term for repeat drunk driving offenders who refuse to take a breath test when they are pulled over. The decision was close with a 4-3 vote that...
The U.S. Constitution is Now an iPhone/iPod Touch App
Posted on September 24, 2009The Legal Current reports that the U.S. Constitution is now available as an iPhone/iPod Touch application created by West Publishing Company. An article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press indicates that West has been publishing a pocket Constitution since Chief...
Ohio Civil Rights Commission Creates Hall of Fame
Posted on September 15, 2009The Ohio Civil Rights Commission has created a brand new Hall of Fame and inducted 10 citizens who the OCRC recognizes as having "made significant contributions to the progress of the civil rights and equal justice in the State of...
Canton Judge Duct-Taped Defendant's Mouth
Posted on September 15, 2009According to the Canton Repository, Canton Municipal Court Judge Stephen Belden recently ordered a defendant's mouth shut with duct tape. The Judge claimed that the defendant was argumentative and would not be quiet. Click here to listen to the audio...
More Cuyahoga County Jurors Cannot Afford to Serve
Posted on September 11, 2009According to the Plain Dealer, the current state of the economy is making it harder for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to keep jurors. Potential jurors who cannot afford to come downtown, whose employers do not pay them during...
Sotomayor Formally Sworn in to U.S. Supreme Court
Posted on September 09, 2009Virtually every legal and non-legal newspaper has picked up the news that Sonia Sotomayor was formally sworn in as the 111th U.S. Supreme Court Justice yesterday. President Obama and several Senators attended the brief swearing in ceremony, which came about...
"B" Corporations Strive to "Benefit" Society
Posted on September 04, 2009Until I read an article from the Christian Science Monitor today, I had no idea what a "B" corporation was. Although "B" corporations currently have no special legal significance where the IRS is concerned, they have a special focus when...
Cuyahoga County Courthouse Closed for Furloughs
Posted on September 04, 2009The Cuyahoga County Courthouse will be closed longer than usual over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Due to financial problems in Cuyahoga County, most of the offices, departements, agencies and courts are participating in voluntary employee furloughs, which will close...
Check out newlawyer.com to Find Lawyers and Obtain Free Legal Advice
Posted on August 24, 2009A new website, http://www.newlawyer.com/, has recently been launched that offers a free directory of lawyers and a new place to seek legal advice. According to newlawyer.com's account executive, 90% of the lawyers on call are willing to provide a free...
Don't Get Scammed by IOLTA Scam
Posted on August 24, 2009According to the Ohio Supreme Court, lawyers are being targeted in the latest Internet email scam. Apparently, non-lawyers posing as lawyers are sending emails to real lawyers about alleged debtors who want to pay up. The phony debtors then follow-up...
Students Taking Ohio Bar Exam Treated to Food, Massages, and a Puppy to Pet
Posted on July 31, 2009Both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Canton Repository reported on the pampering Ohio bar candidates received down in Columbus during their 3-day ordeal taking the Ohio Bar exam. In addition to food, coffee, and other drinks (presumably non-alcoholic), they...
Cloud Computing Using Third Parties Is Risk for Lawyers
Posted on July 31, 2009Cloud computing, or storing all of your work and client files online rather than on a local computer, has become the mantra of lawyers who want to ditch the cost of physical offices and telecommute from home. However, a recent...
Participating in the CLEVNET Library Consortium Pays Off for Patrons
Posted on July 31, 2009A brand new ROI (Return on Investment) Study confirms the benefits of being a member of CLEVNET, a regional library consortium which includes 31 libraries in 11 different counties in Northern Ohio. The study showed that CLEVNET's 27 public libraries....
Are Court Briefs Protected by Copyright Law? One Lawyer Thinks So
Posted on July 31, 2009A California lawyer named Ed Conner claims that a brief he filed in theCalifornia Supreme Court is protected by copyright law. According to the Law Librarian Blog, the Court gave Conner's 143 page brief to LexisNexis to include in its...
Ohio Minimum Wage is Still Higher Than Federal Minimum Wage
Posted on July 31, 2009As Kohrman Jackson & Krantz's blog indicates, the federal minimum wage increased law Fridayon July 24, 2009 to $7.25 per hour. However, it is still $.05 less than Ohio's minimum wage, which increased to $7.30 on January 1st of this...
Cuyahoga County Landbank and Website Are Up and Running
Posted on July 31, 2009The Cuyahoga County Landbank, which began operations on July 22, 2009 now has a website that is up and running at http://www.cuyahogalandbank.org/ The Land Bank's official title is the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (CCLRC), as authorized by Ohio's General...
Ohio Supreme Court issues Court Performance Review regarding Cuyahoga DR Court
Posted on July 29, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court just issued a Court Performance Review regarding the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. It contains 94 pages of 97 recommendations. The categories include critical attention is needed, short-term, intermediate-term, long-term, and ongoing...
"Legal Interns" Can Now Represent More Clients in Ohio
Posted on July 28, 2009Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it has significantly expanded the types of cases in which "Legal Interns" can represent criminal and juvenile defendants. These changes, which will be effective on August 1st, were made as unanimous amendments to...
Federal Courts Enforcing Redaction of PIN Information
Posted on July 28, 2009Attorneys who file electronic documents with federal district, bankruptcy and appellate courts will soon be seeing messages and reminders in the CM/ECF system to redact all personal identifying information before submitting any documents. The U.S. Courts' website just posted a...
Cleveland Bans Texting While Driving!
Posted on July 20, 2009Yesterday, July 19, 2009, the City of Cleveland started enforcing its new ordinance banning texting while driving. See our prior post, where you can find the text of the new ordinance and the City Council record. The first offense will...
Ohio Supreme Court Recommends Significant Changes for Cuyahoga DR Court
Posted on July 15, 2009According to the Plain Dealer, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a report yesterday that contains over 90 recommendations for improvements and changes in the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. Almost a third of the recommendations are labeled as "critical" and...
Cleveland Law Library announces new online tutorial
Posted on July 10, 2009The Cleveland Law Library has just produced its first online tutorial on how to use the Law Library's catalog. You can find the link for the tutorial on the Law Library website. The tutorial explains how to search for items...
New Ohio Court Rules Effective Today
Posted on July 01, 2009Various Ohio Rules of appellate, civil, criminal, and juvenile procedure become effective today. The Ohio Supreme Court's Press Release outlines the changes, which include an addition for service of process on limited liability companies, enhancements to rules on electronic discovery,...
Ohio Supreme Court Seeks Comments on Proposed and Revised Probate Forms
Posted on June 22, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court is seeking comments until July 21st on new and proposed revisions to various probate forms. According to the Court's press release, the new forms would address adoptions, name changes, and incapacitated adults. Click here to read...
Twelve Dads Indicted for Criminal Non-Support
Posted on June 17, 2009The Office of Prosecutor Bill Mason has indicted 12 dads for failure to pay child support. Collectively, the men owe $394,000.45 in child support. Criminal Non-Support is a Fifth Degree Felony under Ohio Revised Code Section 2919.21.
Judge Synenberg Cleared of Bias
Posted on June 17, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the claim that Judge Synenberg had any bias in the death penalty case of Joe D'Ambrosio. A Plain Dealer article describes how prosecutor Bill Mason challenged her neutrality since she represented a co-defendant when she...
Cuyahoga County Jail Overflowing with Inmates Awaiting Trial
Posted on June 17, 2009The Cuyahoga County Jail is overflowing with inmates awaiting trial. According to the Plain Dealer, some judges have as many as 61 inmates awaiting trial. Ohio Revised Code Section 2945.02 contains time limits for trying criminal defendants.
Garfield Hts. Municipal Court Offers Help with Drivers License Reinstatement
Posted on June 12, 2009The Garfield Heights Municipal Court is offering free legal help to drivers who want to try and reinstate their licenses. The help session is planned for June 20, 2009 from 1-4:00 p.m. at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at 18th and...
Ohio Supreme Court Rules Cities Cannot Enforce Residency as Condition of Employment
Posted on June 11, 2009Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Lima v. State that ORC sec. 9.481 is constitutional, and political subdivisions such as cities and townships cannot condition employment on residency. The case was actually a consolidated appeal by the cities of...
Brookings Institution Issues Paper on Ohio's Foreclosure Crisis
Posted on June 11, 2009The Brookings Institution has issued a paper entitled "Addressing Ohio's Foreclosure Crisis: Taking the Next Steps." The full text of this paper is available online and offers details on seven (7) action steps for Ohio state government, including getting borrowers...
US Federal Courts Offer Podcasts on News and Federal Rulemaking
Posted on June 11, 2009If you have not already heard, the U.S. Courts offer podcasts on news and federal rulemaking. Some of the latest news podcasts cover a jury phone scam and new sentences for crack cocaine. The rulemaking podcasts are recordings of meetings...
Cleveland Law Library Awarded Grant to Create Online Tutorials
Posted on June 09, 2009Our Library, the Cleveland Law Library, has been awarded a grant to create online tutorials for our members and site visitors. The Law Library will receive its funding from the Attorney Outreach Grant Program of the United States District Court...
Cleveland Law Library Will Continue to Provide Chat Reference
Posted on June 09, 2009Thanks to the State Library of Ohio, the Cleveland Law Library will be able to continue to provide legal chat reference service to our members, CLEVNET library patrons, and public patrons in contiguous counties through a state-wide service called KnowItNow24x7...
New Jersey Court Throws Out Wikipedia 'Evidence'
Posted on June 02, 2009As the edd blog reports, a New Jersey Judge who allowed a party to fill an gap in evidence with information from Wikipedia has been reversed. The attorney had apparently used the source to help trace ownership of a debt...
Federal Courts Have Updated Many of Their Forms
Posted on June 01, 2009According to a Third Branch Newsletter, the federal courts have updated many of their court forms. Although 56 total forms were revised, some of the most important changes were made to search and seizure warrant forms and the in forma...
Ohio AG Settles for $8.44 with Drug Companies
Posted on June 01, 2009Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has announced an $8.44 million settlement with drug companies who allegedly falsely reported their wholesale drug prices. According to the underlying suit, this data resulted in the Ohio Medicaid Program over-paying pharmacies dispensing drugs to...
Black's Law Dictionary Now Available on iPhones and iPods
Posted on May 29, 2009Thomson Reuters has just created its fist application for iPhones and iPods: Black's Law Dictionary. If you need a definition on the go from this authoritative resource for English or Latin terms or other legal lingo, you can find over...
Follow Us on Twitter
Posted on May 29, 2009The Law Library now has a Twitter feed. You can follow us at clevelandlawlib and see who we are following for news and information about happenings at the law library and the local legal community.
Licking County Courthouse Bannng All Cell Phone Use
Posted on May 27, 2009Although cell phones are already prohibited in Licking County Courtrooms, a new court security policy will prohibit (with huge exceptions) anyone from even bringing a cell phone into the building. The new policy will be implemented on July 1st, and...
Lake County DR Court Offers Free Parenting Coordination Services
Posted on May 27, 2009Under a grant from the Ohio Supreme Court, the Lake County Domestic Relations Court has established a free program to help Lake County residents "manage shared parenting plans without expensive and sometimes lengthy litigation." Lake County Judge Colleen A...
City Loses Suit Alleging Nuisance by 16 Banks
Posted on May 21, 2009Yesterday, the Plain Dealer reported that Akron federal District Court Judge Sara Lioi dismissed the City of Cleveland's lawsuit alleging nuisance against 16 banks in connection with the nation's "subprime lending and foreclosure crisis," which has disproportionately hit the greater...
Should Local Jails Charge for Room and Board, More for Candy?
Posted on May 20, 2009It seems that the nationwide trend among jails and sheriffs is to begin charging inmates for room and board and dramtically increasing prices for items like candy that inmates can buy from commissaries. As an article in the Christian Science...
237 Candidates Passed the February 2009 Ohio Bar Exam
Posted on May 20, 2009According to the Ohio Supreme Court, 237 candidates passed the February 2009 Ohio bar exam. Almost 200 of these individuals chose to attend the swearing in ceremony at the Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus on May 18, 2009. Let's hope...
Cleveland Law Library Blog in Top 50 Law Librarian Blogs
Posted on May 20, 2009The Cleveland Law Library's Blog has made it onto a list of the top 50 blogs in the country for law librarians. To our credit, we are identified as a "Legal Researchg Blog," along with blogs maintained by our sister...
ABA Creates Blog with Info. from ABA Books and Authors
Posted on May 14, 2009The American Bar Association has launched a new blog called the Book Briefs Blog where the ABA will will post "excerpts, articles and interviews from ABA books and authors." The blog will also allow authors to make guest posts and...
Federal Statutes and Rules Will Soon Have Same Deadlines
Posted on May 14, 2009A new law that will take effect later this year in December will make the time limits in various federal statutes co-extensive with deadlines in amendments that the United States Supreme Court already approved to the federal appellate, bankruptcy, civil,...
New Local DR Judge Must Disqualify Herself in Case Her Judge-Father Started
Posted on May 14, 2009In a ruling issued today in the Strauss divorce, the Ohio Supreme Court held that new local Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze must disqualify herself from a case she inherited from her father, who recently...
Ohio Attorneys Contributed 123,000 Hours of Pro Bono Work Last Year
Posted on May 12, 2009Local attorneys who have been providing pro bono services for low-income clients and businesses are in good company. The Ohio Supreme Court just reported that Ohio attorneys spent 123,000 hours last year providing pro bono legal services. This equates to...
8th District Court Previewing Possible New Rules
Posted on May 12, 2009The 8th District Court of Appeals has posted two (2) new proposed rules to its website. Proposed Local Appellate Rule 25.1 would change the procedures for consideration enbanc, nd proposed Local Appellate Rule 22 would amend the procedural rules regarding...
U.S. News Law School Rankings Rank Case Law School 55th
Posted on April 29, 2009The new U.S. News law school rankings are out, with the expected leaders like Yale and Harvard at the top. To its credit, Case Western Reserve University Law School came in 55th in the top 100.The rankings are also helpful...
Cuyahoga County DR Court Updates Forms
Posted on April 27, 2009The Cuyahoga County DR Court has updated the following judgment entries and forms to comply with HB 119: Agreed Judgment Entry (Child Support and Medical Support) Judgment Entry of Dissolution (with Children) -2 versions Judgment Entry of Divorce (with Children)...
Ohio's 5th Circuit Issues Opinion on Reasonable Maternity Leave
Posted on April 22, 2009In an interesting decision, the 5th District Court of Appeals held in Nursing Care Mgmt. of Am. Inc. v. Ohio Civil Rights Comm. (Case No. 08CA0030) that, notwithstanding an employee's length of service or an employer policy that provides otherwise,...
Cleveland City Council Votes to Ban Texting While Driving
Posted on April 22, 2009At its April 14, 2009 meeting, the Cleveland City Council voted to enact new section 433.09 (Ordinance 105-09) to ban texting on cell phones while driving in the City. The Council also passed Resolution No. 110-09 urging Ohio's Governor and...
New Members Only Briefs Available from Ohio LSC
Posted on April 22, 2009The Ohio Legislative Service Commission has updated its Members Only Brief on OVI and OVUAC law and added 3 new briefs on Ohio Immunization Laws, Unemployment Benefits, and Ohio's Public Retirement Systems: An Updated Summary of Ohio OVI and OVUAC...
Ohio Supreme Court Postpones New Rules for Access to Court Records
Posted on April 22, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court has postponed implementation of new rules for access to court records that were supposed to take effect in May. Instead of May 1st, the new rules will take effect on July 1st. According to the Court's...
Non-Attorney in Texas Named Perry Mason Accused of Barratry
Posted on April 22, 2009A man named Perry Mason from Houston, Texas has been criminally charged with barratry under Texas Penal Code sec. 38.12, which prohibits soliciting clients for a lawyer. The irony is that Mason is not a lawyer, but he is accused...
Governor Appoints Michelle D. Earley to Cleveland Municipal Court
Posted on April 08, 2009Governor Strickland has appointed a local attorney named Michelle D. Earley to the Cleveland Municipal Court. On April 20th, Judge Earley will take the seat of Judge Larry Jones, who was recently elected to the 8th District Court of Appeals....
Ohio Judges Create Manual on the Local Budget Process
Posted on April 08, 2009The Ohio Judicial Conference has issued a Manual on the Local Budget Process to help judges deal with local funding authorities about budget issues. The Manual helps to explain what is considered "reasonable and necessary" for the operation of the...
Check Out Our New Law Library Video
Posted on April 08, 2009We have finally joined the generation of YouTube viewers who like to watch videos on the Web. Just last week, we launched a video tour of our Law Library that you can find on our home page. We do not...
U.S. Senators and Representives are Now on YouTube
Posted on April 08, 2009You can now find United States Senators and Representatives on YouTube via Senate and House Hubs: http://www.youtube.com/senatehub http://www.youtube.com/househub YouTube also provides channels for Senate and House committees, Senate and House political parties, and bicameral leadership groups...
Great New Video Available on Citing Ohio Cases
Posted on April 08, 2009I just finished watching a great new Camtasia video on the Internet that explains how to cite Ohio cases. The video was created and narrated by Sue Altmeyer, formerly a Reference and Research Librarian at our Library who is now...
Ohio Supreme Court Warns 10 NE Ohio Mayor's Courts to Register
Posted on April 08, 2009Cleveland.com reports that the Ohio Supreme Court has warned 10 Northeast Ohio Mayor's courts to register with the state. Apparently, the following Courts missed a January 15th deadline: Booklyn; Grand River; Madison; Moreland Hills; North Randall; Orange; Peninsula; Richfield; Seven...
Ohio's New Anti-Stalking Law Takes Effect
Posted on April 08, 2009Ohio's new anti-stalking law went into effect yesterday, on April 7, 2009. This new law (HB 471) was passed during the 127th General Assembly and amended ORC 2903.214. The law allows judges who grant protection orders to also require defendants...
Ohio Business Gateway Updates its Electronic Filing
Posted on March 30, 2009According to Ohio.gov, the Ohio Business Gateway has enhanced its website as of today to make filing business documents easier online. Although I could not get into the new site this morning, businesses will be able to access a single,...
New Ohio Supreme Court Disciplinary Task Force Underway
Posted on March 23, 2009A brand new Task Force has been created by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer to review Ohio's disciplinary process for lawyers and judges. This new Task Force met for the first time last week to begin the job...
8th District Appellate Court Amends Local Rule 22
Posted on March 23, 2009The Eighth District District Court of Appeals recently amended the text of Local Rule 22 (governing Entry of Judgment; Announcement of Decision; Reconsideration) to conform it with recent revisions to Ohio Appellate Rule 22 (Entry of Judgment).
Sixth Circuit Raises Compensation for CJA Counsel
Posted on March 23, 2009Starting with March 11, 2009, Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Counsel who work on cases before the Sixth Circuit can now receive additional compensation, including $500 more, or $6,100, for representation in direct appeals and appeals from the denial of habeas...
Local Man Fined $50,000 for the Unathorized Practice of Law
Posted on March 23, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court has fined Bruce Andrew Brown of Cleveland $50,000 as sanctions for holding himself out to be a lawyer, representing clients, and filing legal documents. Although the Court's decision indicates that Brown is a disbarred lawyer from...
Fairfield County Muni Court Judge Disbarred
Posted on March 23, 2009If you have not already heard the news, the Ohio Supreme Court just permanently disbarred a former Fairfield County Municipal Court Judge named Don S. McAuliffe for multiple violations of both the Ohio Code of Professional Responsibility and the Code...
Jurors Are Researching Cases on the Internet During Trial
Posted on March 18, 2009It is probably just the tip of the iceberg, but the NYTimes just reported that 9 jurors in a recent drug trial were using the Internet to research the case during the trial. Although this federal Judge declared a mistrial...
Governor Appoints Diane Palos to Cuyahoga DR Court
Posted on March 17, 2009Governor Strickland has appointed Diane M. Palos, formerly a Magistrate in the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, to the position of Judge in the DR Court. Judge Palos will be taking over for Judge Anthony Russo, who was elected to...
Morrow County Muni Court is Out of Paper-Can't Accept New Filings
Posted on March 16, 2009Incredibly, the Morrow County Municipal Court in Mount Gilead, Ohio is refusing to accept new case filings on the basis that it does not have enough paper. According to an article from newsnet5.com, Judge Lee McClelland has said that the...
Ohio Jurisprudence and ALR's Are Back on Lexis
Posted on March 10, 2009If you have not already noticed, Ohio Jurisprudence and most of the American Law Reports (ALR2nd through 6th and ALR Fed through ALR Fed 2nd) are back on Lexis. This is great news for Lexis subscribers, who missed having these...
Try Out the New Legal Search Engine from Lexis
Posted on March 10, 2009LexisNexis has launched a beta version of a brand new legal search engine called LexisWeb. This website claims to search thousands of websites and millions of web pages, including government agency sites, legal blogs, and web pages with legal information...
Ohio Supreme Court Changed its Web Address
Posted on March 10, 2009Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court unveiled its new website with a slightly different web address (or URL). This means that everyone will have to update bookmarks to the new address, which is: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/. The Ohio Supreme Court's Press Release indicates...
Cleveland SOS Business Filings Office To Expand Services
Posted on March 10, 2009As reported by Crain's Cleveland Business, the new Cleveland office of the Secretary of State's business services division is soon going to expand its services beyond issuing certificates of good standing, certified copies, apostilles, and minister's licenses to walk-in customers...
Open Discovery Coming to Local Criminal Cases This Week
Posted on February 09, 2009Cleveland.com reports that the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office is launching a new web-based case-management system that will allow defense counsel to view, print and download witness statements, police reports and other documents in criminal cases...
Ohio AG Voluntarily Dismisses Lead Paint Suit
Posted on February 09, 2009According to a Press Release from Friday, the Ohio Attorney General has dismissed the lead paint lawsuit former AG Marc Dann filed in Franklin County CP Court in April of 2007. The Press Release indicates that instead of a lawsuit,...
Ohio Enacts New Booster Seat Law
Posted on February 05, 2009On January 6, 2009, Governor Strickland signed Sub. H.B. 320. This new law requires children between the ages of four and eight and under 4'9" tall to be restrained by booster seats. The law provides that this is a secondary...
Officer Who Personally Observes Traffic Violation Has Probable Cause for Stop Outside His Jurisdiction
Posted on February 05, 2009In State v. Jones, Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-316, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that a police officer's extraterritorial stop for a traffic infraction does not violate the Fourth Amendment, thereby invoking the exclusionary rule. The court relied upon its...
Electronic Notice of Appeal Accepted Only if Appellate Court has Local Rule Permitting Electronic Filing
Posted on February 05, 2009In Louden V. A.O. Smith Corp., Slip. Opinion 2009-Ohio-319, the Supreme Court of Ohio upheld a decision of the Eighth District Court of Appeals dismissing a case as untimely filed after the appealing parties first tried to file their notices...
Kentucky Wants Its Rock Back
Posted on February 05, 2009In a dispute over who owns a big rock dredged from the bottom of the Ohio River, Kentucky's Attorney General has sued the city of Portsmouth, Ohio and others to get the rock back from Ohio. This case originated in...
Failure to Wear a Seat Belt in Ohio May Soon Be Primary Violation
Posted on February 05, 2009The Ohio General Assembly is considering a new law to make the failure to wear a seat belt a primary violation. This means that instead of having to stop a driver for another violation such as speeding in order to...
Law Library VP Appointed as Cuyahoga County Grand Jury Foreperson
Posted on February 03, 2009Judge David Matia of the General Division of Cuyahoga County's Common Pleas Court recently appointed the Cleveland Law Library's Vice President, Carla Tricarichi, as 1 of 3 grand jury forepersons. In this role, she will lead grand jury deliberations to...
Local DR Judge Can't Take Any More Cases
Posted on February 03, 2009The Plain Dealer has reported that Ohio Supreme Court Chief Judge Thomas Moyer has ordered Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judges to stop referring cases to retired Judge June Rose Galvin, who is sitting as a visiting judge. According to a...
Ohio Supreme Court Board Issues UPL Opinion re: Online Legal Document Prep.
Posted on January 26, 2009The Supreme Court of Ohio's Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law has issued a UPL opinion addressing online legal document preparation. Without naming names, the Ohio Board stated that "an individual, not licensed to practice law in Ohio and...
Don't Forget to File Ohio CLE Transcript
Posted on January 24, 2009Lawyers whose last names begin with M-Z should remember to file their CLE Final Reporting Transcript by January 31, 2009. Those who have to report can either send in their form manually or file online. Penalties apply for late filers,...
New Ohio Supreme Court Rule Coming for GAL's
Posted on January 24, 2009For the very first time, the Ohio Supreme Court has issued a state-wide rule for GAL's (Guardians ad litem) that will take effect on March 1, 2009. According to Supreme Court's Press Release, new Rule 48 will govern appointment, responsibilities,...
Ohio Supreme Court Changes Rule Again on Judicial Disclosure of Party Affiliation
Posted on January 24, 2009On December 30, 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court issued more changes to the Ohio Rules of Judicial Conduct that would have allowed judicial candidates to disclosure their party affiliation during primary and general elections. See our prior blog post for...
Jury Duty Scam Hits Summit County
Posted on January 24, 2009Newsnet5.com reports that a jury duty scam has hit Summit County. The Summit County Sheriff's office has learned of a new identity theft scheme where a caller claims to be following up on a jury summons a resident never received....
Ohio Family Law Blog Discusses "Virtual Visitation"
Posted on January 24, 2009Worth reading-The Ohio Family Law Blog has posted 2 interesting articles about "virtual vistation" as a supplement to standard parenting time. The articles cite ORC 3109.051 and a North Dakota case from 2007.
U.S. Supreme Court Holds Exclusionary Rule Does Not Apply to Invalid Arrest
Posted on January 15, 2009In Herring v. United States, No. 07-513, the United States Supreme Court upheld the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit holding that the exclusionary rule does not bar evidence seized after an arrest based upon a recalled...
U.S. Supreme Court Orders Retrial That Is Not Barred By Double Jeopardy
Posted on January 13, 2009In the criminal case of Denny Ross, the United States Supreme Court recently held that he can be retried for the slaying of Hannah Hill in 1999. The Court's decision held that the legal doctrine of double jeopardy did not...
Ohio Supreme Court Now Takes Credit Cards
Posted on January 05, 2009The Ohio Supreme Court has just issued a press release that it now takes credit cards for payments for filing fees and security deposits. Filing fees for appeals and cross-appeals are $40.00, and original actions cost $140.00 total. The only...
Ohio Minimum Wage Increased to $7.30 on New Year's Day
Posted on January 04, 2009As reported by Ohio's Department of Commerce's Division of Labor & Worker Safety, Ohio's minimum wage increased from $7.00 to $7.30 per hour effective on January 1st. Waiters and waitresses also receive an increase in their base pay from $3.50...
Two Cuyahoga County Public Health Agencies Will Merge By July 1st
Posted on January 04, 2009What Cuyahoga County residents now know as separate boards for alcohol/drug addiction and mental health will soon be merged into a single Board to be known as the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County. This...
Ohio BWCMay Have to Reform Group Ratings
Posted on January 04, 2009According to the December 2008 COSE Update, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court issued an opinion in San Allen Inc., et al. (dba Corky and Lenny's) v. Bureau of Workers Compensation, et al., (Case No. CV 644950 on the CP...
EEOC Private Claims Went Up 15.2 % in 2008
Posted on January 04, 2009According to the EEOC's FY 2008 Performance and Accountability Report, private EEOC charges were up 15.2% over 2007 figures. That means that more and more employees have been claiming discrimination and/or harassment at work. Thanks for the tip on this...
Ohio O.K.'d to Buy 700 New Drunk Driving Intoxilyzer Machines
Posted on January 03, 2009According to cleveland.com, the Ohio Controlling Board has authorized the Ohio Department of Public Safety to purchase 700 brand new Intoxilyzer 8000 breath-testing machines to check for drunk driving. These new machines will be used in Clermont County first, but...
Cuyahoga Falls Will Soon Open Mayors Court
Posted on January 03, 2009According to the Falls News Press, Cuyahoga Falls will open the doors to its new Mayors Court on January 12th. However, local officers can start citing violators for minor misdemeanors (including traffic violations, disorderly conduct, unleashed dogs, and open containers)...
Ohio AG Sues Conneaut Company That Allegedly Swindled Consumers in Foreclosure
Posted on January 03, 2009The Ohio Attorney General has sued a Conneaut business called "Please Save My Home" for violations of 3 Ohio Acts: the Consumer Sales Practices Act; the Telephone Solicitation Act; and the Debt Adjuster's Act. The suit claims that the company...
Welcome to New Cleveland Public Library Director, Felton Thomas
Posted on January 03, 2009The Cleveland Law Library welcomes Felton Thomas as the brand new Director of the Cleveland Public Library. CPL's Press Release indicates that Mr. Thomas has 20 years of experience in librarianship and brings energy and vision for the future of...
Ohio Court Records Will Soon Redact PIN Information
Posted on January 03, 2009On December 22, 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court recently issued new rules for Ohio courts that will become effective in May 2009 regarding access to court records. Key to the changes to Rules 44-47 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence...
Safety and Security in the Forefront at the Ohio Supreme Court
Posted on December 18, 2008On Monday, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it has enhanced its rules governing court security plans and standards. These changes to Superintendence Rule 9 would require all Ohio courts to establish court security committees, adopt emergency preparedness and continuity...
Cuyahoga Common Pleas Open Discovery Rule Official
Posted on December 18, 2008The Common Pleas Court for Cuyahoga County has posted an official notice that new rules requiring open discovery in criminal cases will take effect on February 10, 2009 for cases arraigned on or after that date. See our prior post...
U.S. Bankruptcy Filings Exceed One Million
Posted on December 18, 2008This has been a bad year for many Americans. The U.S. Courts website reports that bankruptcy filings for its fiscal year 2008 ending on September 30, 2008 exceeded one million.The total new cases of 1,042,993 topped 2007 figures by over...
Ohio Industrial Commission Decisions No Longer Public
Posted on December 18, 2008According to an article by William Ross in the September/October issue of the Workers' Compensation Journal of Ohio, decisions issued by the Ohio Industrial Commission are not public documents. Ross points to SB 7 amendments to O.R.C. sec. 4123.88 which...
Ohio Completes Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System
Posted on December 18, 2008The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced yesterday that it has completed a Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, also known by the acronym SACWIS. This web-based system will be used by all of Ohio's child welfare workers...
Ohio Sole Northern State Executing Prisoners
Posted on December 11, 2008According to Fox News and others, a new study issued by the Death Penalty Information Center indicates that the vast majority of executions of prisoners occurs in the South, especially Texas. According to the study, Ohio is apparently the only...
Ohio CLE Commission Sanctions 416 Attorneys
Posted on December 11, 2008According to new policies at the Ohio Supreme Court, for the very first time, the Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education directly sanctioned 416 attorneys who did not comply with Ohio's CLE requirements. This process used to go through the...
Supreme Court Awards $125,000 to Victims of Attorney Theft
Posted on December 11, 2008This week, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it awarded over $125,000 from the Clients' Security Fund to victims of attorney theft. According to the Court's Press Release, these funds covered the misconduct of 11 former or suspended attorneys and...
Cleveland Has Updated Its Equal Opportunity Rules for Business
Posted on December 11, 2008The City of Cleveland recently updated the equal opportunity provisions of its Business Code. The changes affect Chapter 187 and among other provisions, provide that contractors cannot discriminate and the City will give equal access to contracts to minority and...
OSBA Issues Tips for Valuing a Law Practice
Posted on December 11, 2008The Ohio State Bar Association has posted a short list of 12 key steps involved in the valuation essential for closing, selling or acquiring a law practice. Some of the more important tips include: the core asset is the attorney's...
U.S. Courts Produce 8 Bankruptcy Basics Videos
Posted on December 01, 2008The U.S. Courts recently produced 8 bankruptcy basics videos. The topics include an 1) Introduction; 2) Types of Bankruptcy; 3) the Limits of Bankruptcy; 4) Filing for Bankruptcy; 5) the Creditors' Meeting; 6) Court Hearings; 7) The Discharge; and 8)...
Statutory Interest Set at 5% for 2009
Posted on December 01, 2008The Cuyahoga County Clerk of Court has posted the new statutory interest rate on judgments for 2009. In accordance with ORC sec. 5703.47, the rate will only be 5%. Practitioners like me may recall the days when statutory interest was...
PACER Turns 20 Years Old
Posted on November 26, 2008According to the Federal Court's Newsletter, PACER (Public Access to [federal] Court Electronic Records) just turned 20 years old. It began in September of 1988 when the Judicial Conference authorized an experimental program to permit electronic access to federal court...
Welcome to Ohio's Newest Attorneys
Posted on November 21, 2008Almost 1,000 new attorneys were admitted to the Bar of Ohio this week at a ceremony at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus. The Court's Press Release indicates that in all 1,016 attorneys passed the July Bar Exam, which represented an...
Attorneys Should Report 2008 Pro Bono Activities to Ohio Supreme Court
Posted on November 21, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court will soon be sending all "active" Ohio attorneys a request for a report on 2008 pro bono contributions and service. According to the Court's Press Release from November 20, 2008, this program, called Justice in Action,...
Cuyahoga County Judges Adopt Open Discovery Rules Prosecutor Plans to Appeal
Posted on November 21, 2008Last week, the Plain Dealer reported that the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judges voted to amend the rules governing criminal prosecutions. In 90 days, Rule 23.1 will require prosecutors to give defense counsel a discovery "packet" containing witness statements,...
Ohio General Assembly to Consider Accountant-Client Privilege
Posted on November 05, 2008A new bill (SB 371) that has been introduced in the Ohio Senate would create an accountant-client testimonial privilege. This privilege would be added as an amendment to O.R.C. sec. 2317.02, which already contains several privileges for attorney-client communications, physician/dentist-patient...
Judge4yourself.com Rates 2008 Judicial Candidates
Posted on October 27, 2008If you have not already voted and need help deciding which judges to vote for locally and on the Ohio Supreme Court, check out judge4yourself.com. This website provides biographical information on each of the candidates running for office in Cuyahoga...
Fred Nance-An Inspiration for Cleveland's Diverse, Legal Community
Posted on October 27, 2008Fred Nance, who many know as LeBron James' attorney, is an inspiration for Cleveland's diverse, legal community. A recent profile on Nance in the Plain Dealer reinforced what I saw on a DVD prepared by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association...
New Survey Says Law School and GPA Don't Always Guarantee Success
Posted on October 27, 2008A new study by Kerma Partners and Redwood Think Tank (Part of LexisNexis) recently concluded that law school pedigree and GPA are not the best predictors of success on the job. Click here for a summary of the survey. Without...
New Guide Available on Changes to Ohio Public Records Laws
Posted on October 27, 2008The Ohio Legislative Service Commisson has just issued a new pamphlet entitled Public Records Law in Ohio. This guide defines what constitutes a public record, how to request public records, the costs to obtain public records, confidentiality rules that must...
Lexis is Bringing Back Ohio Jurisprudence Online
Posted on October 27, 2008To quote a famous phrase from Fiddler on the Roof, "Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles"--- Lexis will soon be bringing back Ohio Jurisprudence online. As you may already know, Westlaw is currently the sole provider of Ohio Jurisprudence. The...
Ohio Supreme Court Approves 16th Specialization for Ohio Attorneys
Posted on October 27, 2008Today, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it has approved a 16th specialization for Ohio attorneys who practice social security disability law. Ohio lawyers were already able to become certified in the following areas: administrative agency law; appellate law; business...
Get Help from Findlaw's Interactive Guide to Electronic Discovery
Posted on October 09, 2008If your practice involves complex discovery issues, Findlaw's Interactive Guide to Electronic Discovery might help. It covers topics such as records management, identification, preservation, collection, processing, review, analysis, and actual production...
Should Legal Interns Be Allowed to Represent Felons?
Posted on October 09, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court is considering amending Rule II of the Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio to allow law students who become certified legal interns to represent alleged felons or juveniles who are accused of committing...
Ohio Governor Strickland Issues Prevailing Wage Guidelines
Posted on September 22, 2008On September 10th, Governor Strickland issued prevailing wage guidelines for public works projects in Ohio. An article from cleveland.com indicates that both the ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors of Ohio) and the Republican party are upset, claiming that the new...
Local Law Firm Sues Over Use of Its Name on the Internet
Posted on September 22, 2008A large law firm based in Cleveland has sued BlockShopper.com (a source for online real estate news) for alleged trademark infringement over use of the law firm's name when two (2) firm lawyers bought expensive condos in Chicago, Illinois. According....
Ohio Public Defender Seeks Injunction to Prevent Execution by Lethal Injection
Posted on September 22, 2008On Thursday last week, the Ohio Public Defender filed suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court seeking an injunction to prevent the execution of death row inmates with a 'cocktail' composed of 3 different drugs. The PD's office claims that...
Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court Issues 2007 Annual Report
Posted on September 22, 2008The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has issued its 2007 Annual Report. In addition to reporting detailed statistics on the numbers of cases filed and terminated, the Report indicates that the Court's 34 judges tried 704 jury trials and 448...
'Concealed Carry' Guns Allowed in Public Parks
Posted on September 22, 2008On Thursday, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down an attempt by the City of Clyde, Ohio to ban concealed weapons from its public parks (Ordinance 955.07). Rejecting the doctrine of home rule by a 4-3 margin, the Supreme Court held...
Cuyahoga County CP Considering Open Criminal Discovery Rule
Posted on September 22, 2008On the heels of a controversy that recently took place in Judge Eileen Gallagher's Courtroom (see our prior post), the Judges of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court are presently considering an incredible change to local criminal discovery rules. By...
Humorous Video on YouTube about Hiring Law Students
Posted on September 05, 2008If you are looking to hire a law student, or have done so recently, you will find this video hilarious. I was laughing out loud by the time it was over: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_librarian_blog/2008/08/friday-fun-welc.html
Cuyahoga County to Start New Business Docket
Posted on September 04, 2008In January, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and 4 other county courts (Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas and Montgomery) in the state are going to start specialized, business dockets to handle complex business litigation. Crain's Cleveland Business online reports that 2...
East Cleveland Sues Former Mayor and Businessman
Posted on September 04, 2008The City of East Cleveland has sued its former Mayor, Emmanuel Onunwor, and a local businessman named Nathaniel Gray, in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for $14 million in damages the City claims it lost over a Water Department contract....
Divorce Takes a Long Time in Cuyahoga County CP Court
Posted on September 04, 2008According to an article from the Plain Dealer online, it takes a long time and almost $1,000 dollars of taxpayer money to get a divorce in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court-more than twice the cost of a divorce in Summit...
Cuyahoga County Sheriff Finds Solution to Over-Crowding in Jail
Posted on September 04, 2008Local complaints about the Cuyahoga County jail being over-crowded have been swirling around for years.The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office recently did something concrete about it by implementing Phase I of a new plan to ship inmates who are charged with...
ABA Endorses Outsourcing Legal Work
Posted on September 04, 2008Unbelievably, the American Bar Association has just issued an ethics opinion endorsing the outsourcing of legal work. Ethics Opinion 08-451 indicates that legal outsourcing to India and elsewhere is permissible as long as client confidentiality and attorney-client privileges are protected...
11th Congressional District Residents Will Have to Vote 3 or More Times
Posted on August 25, 2008In the wake of the Congressional vacancy created by the untimely death of respected U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, (see our prior post), the Plain Dealer reports that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is going to have to schedule...
Ohio Supreme Court Seeks Help Drafting Lawyer-Client Guide
Posted on August 25, 2008According to a Press Release issued today, the Ohio Supreme Court is looking for help in drafting a lawyer-client guide currently called A Consumer's Practical Guide to Managing a Relationship with a Lawyer. The guide, which is already 15 pages...
SEC Is Migrating from Static "EDGAR" System to Interactive "IDEA" Database
Posted on August 25, 2008According to an SEC Press Release, by the end of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission hopes to migrate its information on public companies and mutual funds from the EDGAR system to an entirely new database called IDEA. IDEA...
New Associates Raking in the "Big Bucks" at Big Firms
Posted on August 25, 2008A shocking Plain Dealer report indicates that brand new attorneys are being offered $160,000 to join big, metro-based lawfirms. That translates to a 28% increase, or $35,000 more than big firms were offering new associates 3 years ago. These huge...
Copley Is Banning Ice Cream Trucks
Posted on August 22, 2008Like most kids, my children used to love buying ice cream from ice cream trucks that drove through our neighborhood. Now, the kids who live south of Cleveland in Copley Township are going to have to get their ice cream...
Social Networking Sites Can Provide Insights on Potential Jurors
Posted on August 22, 2008An article posted on the Law Librarian Blog suggests that social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook could provide lawyers with helpful insights on potential jurors.The same could be said of blogs in which potential jurors provide opinions on subjects...
Federal Courts Post 2007 Case Facts and Figures
Posted on August 22, 2008On August 20, 2008, the federal court system posted new "2007 Judicial Facts and Figures" containing case data in the U.S. Courts of Appeal, U.S. District Courts, and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the years 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2002-2007. The...
Suspended and Disqualified Attorneys Cannot Meet Clients or Handle Their Funds
Posted on August 22, 2008Starting September 1st, attorneys who have been either suspended or disqualified will not be able to have any client contact and will not be able to handle client funds. Currently, Rule V of the Rules for the Government of the...
Round 2 Opens for Comments on Access to Ohio Court Records
Posted on August 22, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court has begun Round 2 of a public comment period on proposed amendments to the Superintendence Rules governing access to court records. Click here to read the proposed changes, which would add Rules 44 through 47. Some...
Has There Been An Admission Against Interest in the Voting Machine Debacle?
Posted on August 22, 2008Is the news from Premier Election Solutions, Inc. on msnbc.com an admission against interest (under Ohio Evidence Rule 804(B)(3)) by the maker of Cuyahoga's County's former voting machines? The article indicates that Premier has just stated in a product advisory...
Tributes Planned for Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Posted on August 22, 2008By now, everyone whose life was touched by her is mourning the loss of Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who passed away on August 20, 2008. She was a powerful figure in local Cuyahoga County politics and a formidable Judge,...
State Senator Lance Mason Appointed to Cuyahoga CP Bench
Posted on August 13, 2008State Senator Lance Mason will have soon be vacating his seat in the General Assembly to accept his new appointment to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court bench, effective August 25, 2008. Judge Mason will take the seat formerly held...
2-Year SOL Applies in Ohio Section 1983 Actions
Posted on August 13, 2008Is it finally resolved once and for all? According to the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Nadra v. Mbah, Case No. 2008-Ohio-3918, Ohio's 2-year personal injury statute of limitations contained in O.R.C. 2305.10 applies to civil rights actions brought under...
Ohio Courts Network is Finally a Reality
Posted on August 13, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court has just launched the Ohio Courts Network as a new system that will eventually allow all Ohio courts and selected state agencies to share and search case-specific data. However, the Supreme Court has indicated that this...
Lakewood Bans Pit Bulls
Posted on July 24, 2008In a vote Monday night, the Lakewood City Council has banned pitbulls. This new law, Ordinance No. 58-08, amends Section 506.12 of Lakewood's Codified ordinances. Click here to read a short article about the new local law from newsnet5.com. The...
Federal Minimum Wage Rises to $6.55
Posted on July 24, 2008As of yesterday, the new federal minimum wage for nonexempt, non-tipped employees is $6.55, up 70 cents from the former wage of $5.85. This calculates out to $262 a week or $13,624 per year for a full time employee working...
Inmates Spending More Time on Death Row
Posted on July 24, 2008On the heels of notice that the state of Ohio is going to conduct its first execution in over a year (see our prior blog post), a study just issued by USA Today claims that the amount of time inmates...
Supreme Court Reports Backlog in Ohio's Mayor's Courts
Posted on July 24, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court has issued an annual study which reports that the backlog of cases pending in Mayor's courts beyond their recommended time limit has tripled since 2004. Under Chapter 1905 of the Ohio Revised Code, Mayor's Courts may...
OSBA Certifies 42 Paralegals
Posted on July 22, 2008During its second year of credentialing paralegals, the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) has certified 42 brand new "Certified Paralegals." According to OSBA President Gary Leppla, these paralegals "meet objective and uniform standards of competence and professionalism...
Ohio Secretary of State Ordered to Revise Election Guidelines
Posted on July 22, 2008The Federal Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently ordered Ohio's Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, to restructure Ohio's guidelines for including candidates on the ballot. The Libertarian Party challenged its exclusion from November's Presidential election under Ohio's election...
Ohio Supreme Court Sets First Execution
Posted on July 22, 2008The Supreme Court of Ohio scheduled an October 14, 2008 execution date for Richard Wade Cooey. The scheduled execution will be Ohio's first execution in over a year. A de facto moratorium had been in place after challenges in several...
Ohio Court Costs and Filing Fees Committee Issues Recommendations
Posted on July 15, 2008Ohio's Joint Committee to Study Court Costs and Filing Fees has issued its report with both general comments on the use of the terms "costs" and "fees" in the Ohio Revised Code, as well as specific recommendations for reform. The...
Commission Constituted on Cuyahoga County Government Reform
Posted on July 15, 2008Pursuant to section 703.30 of HB 562, the Ohio General Assembly recently created a Commission on Cuyahoga County Government Reform. To get that Commission started, Governor Strickland and others have named 9 county residents as members who will study and...
Ohio Unemployment Comp System in Jeopardy
Posted on July 15, 2008An article from the Columbus Dispatch reports that funding for Ohio's unemployment compensation system is in jeopardy. This comes on the heels of a recent 13-week extension of benefits under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008. (See our prior...
New Changes to Ohio Rules of Appellate, Civil and Criminal Procedure
Posted on July 11, 2008Make sure to be aware of recent changes to the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. The Ohio Supreme Court's Press Release outlines the changes in these rules...
Garfield Hts. Shopping Center Sued for Alleged EPA Violations
Posted on July 11, 2008At the request of the Ohio EPA, the Ohio Attorney General has sued the owners of the Garfield Hts. Shopping Center for alleged EPA violations. According to a joint press release from the OEPA and AG offices, the Shopping Center...
Ohio Judges Support Excluding SS Benefits From Division of Property in Divorce
Posted on July 11, 2008The Ohio Judicial Conference and the Ohio Association of Domestic Relations Judges support Ohio HB 395, which would amend ORC 3105.171 and exclude social security benefits from division of property calculations in divorce cases. According to the OJC's Judicial Impact...
Fernald Uranium Plant Settlement Almost Completed
Posted on July 11, 2008The Ohio EPA and federal government have reached a proposed $13.75 million dollar settlement to restore the natural resources at the former Fernald, Ohio uranium plant. According to the EPA's press release, this settlement would end 22 years of litigation...
Recommendations Issued for Simplifying Ohio's Felony Statutes
Posted on July 10, 2008An article from the Columbus Dispatch reports on the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission's latest recommendations to simplify Ohio's criminal code, using the felony statutes as an example. The recommendations include ways to pare the text down by over half and...
Can Lead Paint Still Be A Nuisance in Ohio?
Posted on July 07, 2008A recent decision from the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that Sherwin-Williams and other paint manfuacturers were not liable for cleaning up lead paint contamination in thousands of homes. Even though lead paint has been linked to health problems, especially...
Ohio To Extend Unemployment Compensation Benefits
Posted on July 07, 2008The word is spreading quickly that the State of Ohio has extended unemployment compensation benefits by an additional 13 weeks, starting July 6th. Up until yesterday, the average, eligible employee could only receive up to 26 weeks of unemployment comp...
Highland County Judge Disbarred
Posted on July 07, 2008The new ethics rules governing Ohio lawyers prohibit us from disparaging the name and reputation of sitting judges. However, former Highland County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Hoskins has earned this type of censure, having been permanently disbarred from practicing law...
8th District Appeals Court Refuses to Stay Order Requiring Cuyahoga Prosecutor to Turn Over Evidence
Posted on June 27, 2008Yesterday, the 8th District Court of Appeals refused to grant prosecutors in the Holliman case a stay of Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher's order requiring the prosecutors to turn over virtually their entire investigatory file to the defense. A newsnet5...
Exculpatory or Not, Judge Orders Prosecution to Turn Over Possible DNA Evidence
Posted on June 26, 2008For better or worse, Ohio law currently only requires prosecutors to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense in a criminal case. Although there are strenuous opponents, the law does not require prosecutors to turn over all police reports, witness...
Would You Have Wanted to Finish Law School in 2 Years?
Posted on June 26, 2008It probably won't cost any less, but Northwestern Law School has launched a new program where law students can become lawyers in only 2 years instead of 3. Click here to read an article from the Wall Street Journal about...
Do You Still Want to Chaperone Your Kids' Trips?
Posted on June 26, 2008On the heels of a $700,000 judgment against a mom who chaperoned her daughter's cheerleading trip to Hawaii, you have to ask yourself if you still want to chaperone your kids' school trips. Even though newsnet5.com reported that a student...
CWRU Study Blames Subprime Loans for Cuyahoga Foreclosures
Posted on June 26, 2008The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University has just issued a study in which the results definitively link subprime loans to a large portion of the foreclosures in Cuyahoga County. Crain's reports that the...
8th District Appeals Court Returning to Former Method of Issuing Opinions
Posted on June 23, 2008The 8th District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County is in the process of returning to its former system of distributing new opinions as soon as they are announced. This means that you will immediately be able to access opinions...
Cleveland Asks Cuyahoga CP Court to Stop Foreclosures
Posted on June 10, 2008In a Council resolution passed yesterday, the City of Cleveland has asked the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to stop all new and existing foreclosure actions where the debtors are still living in their homes. The CP Court recently posted...
Cuyahoga County CP Court Getting a New Court Administrator
Posted on June 09, 2008Starting August 1, 2008, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court will have a new Court Administrator named Gregory M. Popovich. Mr. Popovich will succeed Judge Thomas Pokorny, who presently serves as Court Administrator and will step down to become a visiting...
Cuyahoga County Sued Over Voting Machines
Posted on June 05, 2008Newsnet5.com reports that Premier Election Solutions has sued Cuyahoga County, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, the Cuyahoga County Commissioners, and the Ohio Secretary of State in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Case No.08 CV 007841, claiming that it fulfilled...
Private Clubs Subject to Smoking Law
Posted on June 04, 2008Today, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected a discretionary appeal in Case No.2008-0356, filed by the Ohio Department of Health to challenge Ohio's relatively new anti-smoking law as applied to private clubs and veterans' halls. The Court's decision confirms that the...
Ohio County Law Library Legislation is Pending
Posted on June 03, 2008Last Thurday, Ohio Senator David Goodman introduced legislation related to Ohio's county law libraries as SB 345. The full text of the proposed bill can be located at the Ohio Legislative Service Commission's web site. Please read the text of...
Ohio Enacts New 28% Cap on Payday Lending Rates
Posted on June 03, 2008Yesterday, Governor Strickland signed a new law, known as HB 545, that places a 28% cap on payday lending interest rates. Although the Plain Dealer reports that lenders are complaining that they will be crippled and have to close up...
New Policy on Release of 8th District Appellate Court Opinions
Posted on May 29, 2008As we reported in an earlier post this week, the 8th District Appellate Court has created a new policy that it is continuing to re-think on the release of its opinions. As the Plain Dealer reports, the Court will release...
OSU Dean to Sub as New Ohio AG
Posted on May 29, 2008Governer Strickland has appointed Ohio State University College of Law Dean Nancy Rodgers as the Ohio Attorney General for the next 5 months. To fill this temporary position until a new AG can be elected in November, Dean Rodgers has...
Cleveland Prevails on Appeal of Residency Rule
Posted on May 23, 2008Yesterday, the 8th District Court of Appeals announced its decision in City of Cleveland v. State of Ohio (Case No. 89565 on the Court's docket), upholding the City of Cleveland's exercise of home rule to require police officers and other...
Stark County Cutting Jurors' Pay
Posted on May 23, 2008Newsnet5.com reports that the Stark County Commissioners are suspending most of the payments jurors in Canton's Common Pleas Court would otherwise receive for answering the call to jury service. Budget crunches are everywhere, and now they are affecting the budget...
Cuyahoga Appellate Judge Mary Boyle Sat On Ohio Supreme Court
Posted on May 22, 2008Local 8th District appellate Judge Mary J. Boyle sat as a visitng judge on the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday. As the Supreme Court's Press Release indicates, Judge Boyle replaced Judge Cupp (who recused himself) on the case captioned Beneficial Ohio...
Bill Mason on Short List for Ohio AG Job
Posted on May 21, 2008In the wake of Marc Dann's resignation as Ohio Attorney General, a number of candidates' names are being suggested as Dann's replacement. One of those potentials is local Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, who has been quoted as saying it...
Smoking Ban To Be Tested at Columbus Hearing
Posted on May 20, 2008Newsnet5.com reports that Ohio's new smoking ban will be put to the test at a hearing in Columbus on Wednesday. According to the news, a Columbus bar called Zeno's Victorian Village has been cited multiple times for violating the new...
Demjanjuk Loses in U.S. Supreme Court
Posted on May 20, 2008The United States Supreme Court has declined to grant a petition for a writ of certiorari to John Demjanjuk, a local resident of Seven Hills, Ohio who has been accused of being Ivan (also spelled Iwan) the Terrible, a Nazi...
Ohio Supreme Court To Consider Employee Residency Laws
Posted on May 12, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court has decided to tackle employee residency requirements that have been at issue in various communities in Ohio. Without consolidating the matters, the Court will hear separate arguments the same day in 2 cases involving the extent...
Ohio Supreme Court to Amend Rules on Guardian Ad Litem
Posted on May 12, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court has published a proposed a new Rule regarding the appointment and performance of guardians ad litem. This brand new rule would apply whenever a common pleas court judge appoints a guardian ad litem in a domestic...
Judge Calabrese Sat on Ohio Supreme Court
Posted on May 12, 2008According to a recent Ohio Supreme Court Press Release, Judge Anthony O. Calabrese, Jr. of our local Eighth District Court of Appeals, recently sat as a visiting judge on the Supreme Court of Ohio in the case of State of...
Ohio AG Dann Likely Headed for Impeachment Proceedings
Posted on May 12, 2008If the Democrats keep their promise, Ohio's Attorney General, Marc Dann, will soon be involved in impeachment proceedings. As of this weekend, they already stripped Dann of their party's 2006 endorsement of him for Attorney General, and the process is...
PACER Is Adding Transcripts-N.D. of Ohio to Make Them Available
Posted on May 05, 2008The latest news from PACER is that transcripts will soon be available to the general public that have registered for access. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has issued a Press Release that outlines the...
Sheffield Woman Cannot Keep 90 Cats
Posted on May 02, 2008The Sheffield Lake City Council has voted not to allow a woman to keep 90 cats in her home. Although the resident claims that she treats her cats as well as she does her children, section 505.20 of the Sheffield...
Ohio Bar Results Are Out
Posted on May 02, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court has just released the February 2008 bar exam results. Overall, the pass rate was 65.5%, but the rate for first-timers was 83%. The list of all of the successful candidates can be found at the Supreme...
Myers University to Be Sold
Posted on April 30, 2008Myers University, which graduates paralegals who take jobs in Cleveland and surrounding communities, will soon be purchased by a Connecticut firm that intends to invest $2 million to keep the school alive. As you may remember, Myers' President, Richard Scaldini,...
Cuyahoga County Employee Admits to Stealing from Employment and Family Services
Posted on April 30, 2008Cuyahoga County can't seek to catch any breaks lately. The latest scandal reported by the news media is that a county employee named Juanita Myrick just pleaded guilty to stealing over $864,000 from the Cuyahoga County Department of Employment and...
Alleged Speeders May Get a Break
Posted on April 30, 2008Alleged speeders may get a break under a new decision issued by Ohio's 9th District Court of Appeals. On Monday, that Court reversed a $100 ticket issued to a truck driver who was allegedly going 67 in a 55 mph....
Law Library Titles Now Searchable Through State Library of Ohio Website
Posted on April 29, 2008Thanks to a brand new innovation launched yesterday called WorldCat Local, all of the titles that the Cleveland Law Library owns are now searchable at the State Library of Ohio's website. As the State Library's Press Release indicates, the State...
Employees Sue Columbus-Based Skybus Under WARN Act
Posted on April 21, 2008Last week, former employees of Skybus, a Columbus-based airline company which recently shut down its operations, sued the company in bankruptcy court, alleging that Skybus violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (aka The WARN Act)...
Ohio Supreme Court Candidates Sign "Clean Campaign Agreement"
Posted on April 21, 2008All of the candidates running for positions on the Ohio Supreme Court have signed a "Clean Campaign Agreement." The Ohio State Bar Association's Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee recently announced that Justice Maureen O'Connor, Judge Joseph D...
Northern District Of Illinois Goes Mobile
Posted on April 21, 2008The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has gone "mobile." In what the U.S. Court's Press release claims is the first access of its kind, the Illinois Court now offers access to its website for lawyers...
2007 Bankruptcy Filings Were Up 38% in Federal Court
Posted on April 18, 2008According to a report recently issued by the U.S. Courts, 2007 bankruptcy filings were up 38% in federal court. Of the 850,912 bankruptcies filed, regretably, Ohio ranked 6th for all filings, 3rd for Chapter 7 filings, and 10th for Chapter...
Ohio District Court Warns of Phony Grand Jury Subpoenas
Posted on April 18, 2008The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio recently posted a notice to its website with a warning about phoney email grand jury subpoenas. The Court indicated that these are not official court communications and that recipients...
"CSI"-Like Office Coming to Cleveland by 2011
Posted on April 18, 2008By 2011, Cleveland will have its own "CSI"-like crime lab. Through a joint venture between the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, the Ohio Attorney General, the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland State University, Cleveland will soon have a lab that can analyze DNA...
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Lethal Injection
Posted on April 18, 2008In a 7-2 vote in the case of Baze v. Rees, the United States Supreme Court rejected a claim that death by lethal injection in 36 states, including Ohio, was unconstitutional. Although 2 death-row inmates had claimed that the process...
ODJFS Ordered to Disclose Foster Care Provider Identities
Posted on April 18, 2008On April 9, 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court held that the Cincinnati Enquirer was entitled to records from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) identifying the names and addresses of certain certified foster care providers. The Court's...
Cuyahoga County to Switch Voting Equipment Again
Posted on April 07, 2008The Plain Dealer reports that voters will have to contend with yet another voting system for the November 2008 presidential election. The local Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has scrapped plans to use "central-count" optical scan machines it rented for...
North Royalton Considering Outdoor Smoking Ban
Posted on April 07, 2008The City of North Royalton, Ohio is considering passing a new ordinance to prohibit smoking in parks, fields, and outdoor seating areas. Newsnet5 reports that the ban was proposed in response to complaints about smoking around children at their sports...
U.S. 6th Circuit Implementing Mandatory ECF
Posted on April 04, 2008The federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will soon be implementing mandatory electronic case filing. According to a Notice the Court recently posted on its home page, the system will operate similar to the ECF systems being used in many...
Ohio LSC Publishes Brief on Election Process
Posted on April 04, 2008Adding to its growing collection of publicly-available "Members Only" publications, the Ohio Legislative Service Commission has published a brief entitled "An Overview of Ohio's Election Process." This brief provides information on Ohio's election officials, voter registration, electors, candidacy, types of...
Cuyahoga County CP Court Posts Documents re: Proposed Foreclosure Mediation Program
Posted on April 03, 2008On March 24, 2008, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court posted documentation regarding a proposed Foreclosure Mediation Program. The plan outlines steps which should be taken once a foreclosure complaint has been filed. Step 4 allows for a borrower to...
Cuyahoga County to Build New Juvenile Justice Center
Posted on April 03, 2008The Plain Dealer reports that Cuyahoga County has awarded $40 million in contracts for the construction of a new Juvenile Justice Center on the East side at East 93rd and Quincy Avenue. The project is slated for completion by 2010...
Mark D. Lay Settles Civil Suit With Ohio BWC for $5 Million
Posted on April 03, 2008Crain's Cleveland Business and the Columbus Dispatch report that Mark D. Lay has agreed to pay the state $5 million to settle the civil suit the state filed in June 2005 to try and collect $216 million in losses to...
Save The Dream-Stop Ohio Foreclosures
Posted on April 03, 2008To try and stem the rising tide of foreclosures in Ohio, the Ohio Supreme Court and state agencies and organizations from around the state have created another tool for Ohio's Foreclosure Prevention project called Save The Dream. Although Save the...
Cuyahoga BOE Investigating Cross-Over Voters
Posted on April 03, 2008Cuyahoga County's Board of Elections recently initiated an investigation of voters who switched their party affiliation for the March 4th presidential primary. This investigation began because over 16,000 Republicans in Cuyahoga County declared themselves as Democrats by signing a required...
Cleveland Firefighter Ordered Back to Work
Posted on March 17, 2008The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Eighth District Court of Appeals has ordered the City of Cleveland to reinstate William R. Ruck, a firefighter who the City fired for allegedly living in Olmsted Township. The Court's decision (Case No....
Cuyahoga County Courthouse Safe from Water
Posted on March 07, 2008When a water pipe near Ontario and Superior burst underground yesterday, the flowing water reached the second step of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse before receding. Other than mud on the steps and surrounding streets, and an odor in the lower...
Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Self Help Center Opens
Posted on March 04, 2008Last week, the Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program opened a Self Help Center inside the May Dugan Center at 4115 Bridge Road in Cleveland. This new Center is intended to help homeless people and others who cannot afford a lawyer...
Fewer Women Make It To Ohio Legislature
Posted on March 03, 2008According to a Report from the Akron Beacon Journal on Ohio.com, the number of women in the Ohio General Assembly has slipped from a post-1992 high to a low of 17%. That means that only 1 in 6 legislators is...
Upgrades Planned for OSBA Casemaker Product
Posted on March 03, 2008For those of you who are members of the Ohio State Bar Association, you can expect enhancements to Casemaker in the near future. OSBA President Robert Ware has announced that a search technology company called Collexis Holding Company has acquired...
Ohio Can Only Use Certified E-Poll Books for Election
Posted on March 03, 2008According to an Ohio Secretary of State Press Release, Ohio SOS Jennifer Brunner has issued an advisory that only e-poll books that have been certified by the Ohio Board of Voting Machine Examiners (BVME) can be used in the upcoming...
Ohio Model Foreclosure Mediation Program Available
Posted on March 03, 2008The Ohio Supreme Court recently made available a new model mediation program for foreclosure cases. According to the Court's Press Release, the new program is "in direct response to Ohio's rising mortgage crisis." The program includes "best practices, related documents,...
April Changes Coming for Local Criminal Case Management
Posted on March 03, 2008Starting on April 14, 2008, Cuyahoga County prosecutors and prisoners will have to follow new criminal case management rules. According to upcoming changes in Local Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Rule 23 on Criminal Case Management, prisoners in the Cuyahoga...
Ohio Northern District Has New Federal Magistrate
Posted on March 03, 2008Crain's Cleveland Business reports that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has a new Magistrate named Gregory A. White. Most recently having served as the United States Attorney in the Northern District, White is a...
It's Official-2 Bars Become One in Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Posted on March 03, 2008It's official-as of Friday, March 1, 2008, the Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Bar Associations formally merged into a single entity, becoming the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. The vote, which took place at the offices of the Cleveland Bar Association on...
New Superintendence Rules for Ohio
Posted on March 03, 2008Per the Court's Press Release, the Ohio Supreme Court amended Rules 19 and 19.1 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence, effective March 1, 2008. For the 1st time, Rule 19 provides a minimum rule for magistrates' years in practice. Specifically,...
Fastcase Launches Beta Version of Public Library of Law
Posted on March 03, 2008Fastcase has launched a beta or trial version of The Public Library of Law. The PLoL claims to be the biggest free law library in the world with access to cases from the United States Supreme Court and the federal...
Ohio AG Issues Report on Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis
Posted on February 13, 2008The Ohio Attorney General has issued a Report on the state's mortgage foreclosure crisis. According to a Press Release, the Report is critical of the entities that are loaning money under sub-prime lending practices. Click here to read the Report...
Federal Court Management Statistics Available Online
Posted on February 13, 2008The U.S. Courts Library has posted 2007 Federal Court Management Statistics for all U.S. Courts of Appeal and District Courts. The data is available in chart or spreadsheet format. The appellate data provides overall caseload statistics and more detailed information...
2007 U.S. Judicial Conference Proceedings Now Online
Posted on February 13, 2008The September 18, 2007 Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States is now available online. This Report provides detailed summaries of the results of elections, committee resolutions and activities, changes in magistrate positions, and federal...
Local Judicial Profiles and Info at Judge4Yourself.com
Posted on February 13, 2008A good place to find biographical information and ratings on local judicial candidates is judge4yourself.com. This site is a service of the Judicial Candidates Rating Coalition (JCRC), which is comprised of The Cleveland Bar Association, The Cuyahoga County Bar Association,...
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer on Public Records and Open Government
Posted on February 13, 2008In a Press Release issued by the Ohio Supreme Court, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer discusses the history behind Ohio laws governing public records and open government. Moyer goes on to indicate that the Court is currently working on a drafting...
Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Bar Associations to Merge 3/1/08
Posted on February 13, 2008It will soon be a 'done deal' on March 1st when the Cleveland Bar Association and the Cuyahoga County Bar Association formally merge into a single entity. Right now, a joint Blue Ribbon Panel composed of members from both associations...
Cleveland Muni Court Implemeting New Case Management System
Posted on February 05, 2008The Daily Legal News print edition reports that Cleveland Municipal Court is in the process of implemeting a new case management system called CourtView at a cost of $9.3 million dollars. The system is supposed to be phased-in over 6...
New Berea Courthouse on Hold
Posted on February 04, 2008The Sun News reports that construction plans to build a new courthouse in Berea have been put on hold for 2 years. Cited for the delay are falling city revenues and higher than expected construction bids. With this postponement comes...
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Issues 2006 Report
Posted on February 04, 2008The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court General Division has just issued its 2006 Annual Report. The report is available online and covers: statistics on filings and dispositions; general financial information about court expenses; and information on all court departments that...
Feb 5th-ACLU Gets Injunction Hearing on Cuyahoga County Paper Ballots
Posted on February 04, 2008Tomorrow, on February 5, 2008, Judge Kathleen O'Malley of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio will hold a hearing on the ACLU's petition for a preliminary injunction to prohibit Cuyahoga County from using paper ballots....
Medical Malpractice Claims Down 20% in Ohio
Posted on February 04, 2008The Toledo Blade and Associated Press reports that the Ohio Department of Insurance has issued a report showing that medical malpractice claims were down 20% in 2006. Only 4,006 claims were filed in 2006, compared to 5,051 in 2005. Although...
Pictures of Ohio's 88 County Courthouses Now on Display at Ohio Judicial Center
Posted on February 04, 2008The Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus is now home to pictures of all of Ohio's 88 courthouses. According to the Ohio Supreme Court's press release, the photos came from various members of the community, as well as the Ohio Historical...
OPERS Sues Freddie Mac in Class Action For Securities Fraud In Mortgage Industry
Posted on February 01, 2008On behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, commonly known as OPERS, Attorney General Marc Dann has sued Freddie Mac in Youngstown federal court, for securities fraud in the mortgage industry. The docket in the case can be found...
Akron's Speeding Laws Are Valid Under Home Rule
Posted on February 01, 2008Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court provided guidance to a Cleveland federal district court that certified a question concerning the legality and enforceaiblity of Akron's speeding ordinance. In Mendenhall v. Akron, 2008-Ohio-270, the Ohio Supreme Court held that Akron has the...
Medina Court Posts Child Support Contempt Proceedings
Posted on February 01, 2008Newsnet5.com reports that Medina Domestic Relations Court Judge Mary Kovack has begun posting video clips of her child support contempt sentencing hearings to the Internet. Judge Kovack and Common Pleas Court Judge James Kimbler are both using the website/blog called...
Cleveland Suing 21 Companies Over Foreclosures
Posted on January 14, 2008The City of Cleveland is suing 21 investment companies over the rise in foreclosures and abandoned homes around the City. The case docket and list of parties can be found by searching Case No. CV-08-646970 on the Cuyahoga County Common...
Akron City Employees Must Live Where They Work
Posted on January 11, 2008In a case decided yesterday, the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals, held that Akron City employees must live in Akron if they want to keep their jobs. The Court?s decision upholding a residency restriction in Akron City Charter amendments...
Pamphlet Available re: Ohio Groundwater Ownership and Allocation
Posted on January 09, 2008The Ohio Legislative Service Commission has added another Brief to its growing list of informative pamphlets on legal issues affecting Ohio and its citizens. The latest in this series is an Internet pamphlet entitled "Ohio Law Governing Ground Water Ownership...
OJur and ALR Now Exclusively on Westlaw
Posted on January 09, 2008This year, Ohio Jurisprudence and the American Law Reports (ALR's) are only going to be available on Westlaw. Traditional template searching to gain access to these products on Lexis will no longer work. Westlaw will also be the only place...
Georgia Attorney Sues LexisNexis Over File & Serve Fees
Posted on January 08, 2008Legaldockets.com reports that a Georgia attorney has sued LexisNexis, claiming that File & Serve filing fees are illegal. The attorney is trying to certify a class action to determine whether the fees File & Serve charges for e-filing violate filing....
NCSC Issues 2007 Report on Future Trends in State Courts
Posted on January 08, 2008The National Center for State Courts has issued its 2007 report on Future Trends in State Courts. This report discusses public access to court records containing personally identifiable information, using technology to improve customer service, national information exchange, increasing access...
Ohio Supreme Court Seeking Comments on Rules for Grievances & Discipline
Posted on December 28, 2007In a Press Release issued today, the Ohio Supreme Court has announced that it is seeking comments on proposed rule changes to the rules of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline. The proposed rules would make changes to...
Ohio's Minimum Wage Going Up On 1/1/08
Posted on December 28, 2007Ohio's minimum wage for most employees is going up on January 1, 2008 from $6.85 per hour to $7.00 per hour for non-tipped workers and from $3.43 per hour plus tips to $3.50 per hour plus tips for tipped workers....
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds S.B. 80 Tort Reform
Posted on December 28, 2007The Ohio Supreme Court has just issued a press release that the Court has upheld 2 tort reform statutes. In Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson, 2007-Ohio-6948, the Court held that 2 recent Ohio tort reform statutes do not violate the...
Fired Workers Comp. Claimant Can only Sue for Retaliation Under Statute
Posted on December 26, 2007The Ohio Supreme Court just issued a decision in Bickers, which holds that a workers' comp. claimant who is terminated while receiving benefits has no common law right to sue in tort for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy....
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I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Can a city library prevent you from using thier facilities based on a school district being from another city reaching into your city?
that seems a little ridiculous that they would do that. libraries are supposed t...
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