The Ohio Supreme Court will accept public comment until March 14 on proposed amendments concerning the designation or election of an administrative judge in a multi-division municipal court.

In Ohio, each court or division of a court has an administrative judge who possesses various powers and duties, including control over the docket, assigning cases, and administering personnel policies. Proposed amendments to Rule 4 of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio would address confusion concerning the designation or election of an administrative judge in certain municipal courts.

The current rule addresses the designation or election of an administrative judge in a single judge or multi-judge municipal court. However, the rule does not recognize or address the designation or election of an administrative judge in a single-judge or multi-judge division of a municipal court — for example, a housing or environmental division.

The Commission on the Rules of Superintendence has recommended amending Sup. R. 4 to treat multi-division municipal courts the same as multi-division courts of common pleas. Specifically, under the amendment, a judge of a single-division of a municipal court would automatically serve as the administrative judge of that division. In a multi-judge division of a municipal court, the judges of that division would elect an administrative judge for the division.

Comments should be submitted in writing or via email by March 14 to:

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

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