The Ohio Supreme Court will accept public comment until July 5 on a proposed rule that would require appellate court cases to be randomly assigned to judges of that court.

The new rule resembles Sup. R. 36.011, which addresses trial courts only. Since that rule doesn’t address how cases are assigned in appellate courts, the Advisory Committee on Case Management recommended a specific rule to address how those cases are assigned.

This proposed rule allows for the random assignment of cases through an objective and impartial system.

The specific language of proposed new Sup.R. 36.020 is as follows:

“Cases filed in a court of appeals shall be randomly assigned to judges of the court through an objective and impartial system that ensures, to the extent practicable, equitable distribution of cases among the judges. The random assignment system should have no discernable pattern so that parties will not be able to predict to whom a case is assigned before the actual assignment.”

Once the 30-day public comment period ends, the Court’s Case Management Section will make a final recommendation to the Court. The Court will then decide what action, if any, should be taken.

Comments on this proposal should be submitted in writing or by email to:

Tasha Ruth
Case Management Section Manager
Ohio Supreme Court
65 South Front St., Sixth Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
or
Tasha.Ruth@sc.ohio.gov

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