The Ohio Supreme Court will accept public comments until April 14 on proposed rule amendments that outline under which circumstances a lawyer who is a retired or former judge may use a judicial title.

The Supreme Court proposes adding two sections to Rule 8.2 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. The two new sections are:

• “(c) A lawyer who is a retired or former judge may use a title such as ‘justice,’ ‘judge,’ ‘magistrate,’ ‘Honorable’ or ‘Hon.’ without violating Prof. Cond. Rule 7.1 or 8.4(c) when the title is preceded or followed by the word ‘retired,’ if the lawyer retired in good standing, or ‘former,’ if the lawyer involuntarily retired in good standing.”
• “(d) A lawyer who is a retired or former judge shall not state or imply that the lawyer’s former service as a judge enables the lawyer to improperly influence a government agency or official or to achieve results by means that violate the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct or other law. See Prof. Cond. Rule 8.4(e).”

View the text of the proposed amendments.

Comments should be submitted in writing to:

John VanNorman, Senior Policy and Research Counsel
65 South Front Street, Seventh Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
or
john.vannorman@sc.ohio.gov

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