Ohio Supreme Court’s Judicial College will repurpose face-to-face courses to online sessions and webinars for the next two months.

Ohio Supreme Court’s Judicial College will repurpose face-to-face courses to online sessions and webinars for the next two months.

The Ohio Supreme Court’s Judicial College, which provides legal and professional education for judges, magistrates, and court personnel, has adjusted its on-site programming due to the coronavirus crisis.

“Our goal is to help courts through this difficult time with needed and easy to access education like a new webinar series, in addition to our catalog of self-study and future live courses,” said Judicial College director Christy Tull.

The course instructors and attendees consist almost entirely of the same pool of jurists and court staff that are struggling to keep courts open across the state. The legal needs in their counties must come first, Judicial College leaders conclude.

That emphasis aligns with Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor’s guidance to local courts amid the coronavirus outbreak, and a statewide “stay-at-home” order to limit non-essential travel and large gatherings of people to curb the spread of the disease.

This approach will “allow presenters and participants to stay focused on current challenges and allow Ohio Judicial College staff to maximize efforts on alternative presentation platforms,” said Jeff Hagler, the Court’s administrative director.

The Judicial College is altering its programs through June 1 by repurposing many face-to-face presentations from in-person to webinars and online courses. As instructors and staff work to reformat curricula, some sessions will be cancelled.

Courses cancelled through June 1 include in-person courses for guardians of adults, guardians ad litem, court managers, and probation officers. However, most of these programs have identical or similar courses offered throughout the remainder of the year. In addition, the Judicial College offers more than 100 hours of education online and on-demand for these audiences.

Part II of “New Judges Orientation” will be offered in a modified format during the first week of May. Judges registered for “Capital Cases” in April have the option to attend the next offering of this course. Mentoring activities for new judges will continue without interruption.

The Ohio Association of Magistrates and the Ohio Association for Court Administration spring conferences also will be cancelled. Association members are contacted directly about additional educational offerings including online and webinar courses.

Every registrant will receive notices of cancellations.

Newly added weekly webinars for judges and court leaders entitled “Courts and the Coronavirus” will be offered every Friday through May.

Any judicial officer, staff, or guardian interested in the changes and opportunities for live, webinar, and online courses, can find more information at the Ohio Judicial College website.