The Ohio Supreme Court adopted two rule changes in 2017 affecting the appointment of magistrates for courts.

Starting Jan. 1, 2018, amendments to Sup.R. 4.01 and Sup.R. 19 require administrative judges to notify the Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Services within 30 days of appointment or termination of an appointment of a magistrate for that court or division.

The changes are for appointments of magistrates that occur on or after Jan. 1, 2018. Administrative judges do not have to provide notice of appointments for magistrates who were appointed prior to that date. However, the office must be notified of the termination of any appointment that occurs after Dec. 31, 2017, even if the magistrate’s appointment began prior to January 2018.

How to comply:

• Administrative judges will use the same credentials to access the administrative judge portal that are used for monthly reporting through the eStats portal.
• The administrative judge portal is at sc.ohio.gov/AJMM/.
• The following offers instructions: sc.ohio.gov/AttySvcs/magistrates/judgeGuide.pdf.

Amended Sup.R. 19 also requires that magistrates take an oath of office administered by the administrative judge. Furthermore, within 30 days of appointment, the magistrate shall file a certificate of oath signed by the administrative judge with the clerk of court in the jurisdiction in which he or she serves. Although magistrates appointed prior to January are not subject to the oath requirement, taking the oath and filing it for all magistrates is encouraged by the Office of Attorney Services.

The rule amendments related to magistrate notification, registration, and oath of office are on the Supreme Court’s website.

Contact the Office of Attorney Services at 614.387.9320, (option 1), or attyreg@sc.ohio.gov with questions.

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