The Chief Justice and justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio will travel to Logan County April 24 for the court's Off-Site Court Program.

The Chief Justice and justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio will travel to Logan County April 24 for the court's Off-Site Court Program.

The Ohio Supreme Court confirmed today the four cases it will hear in official session in Logan County on Wednesday, April 24 as part of its Off-Site Court Program.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Terrence O’Donnell, Judith Ann Lanzinger, Sharon L. Kennedy, Judith L. French, and William M. O’Neill will hear oral arguments in four cases beginning at 9 a.m. in the Distance Learning Center at Bellefontaine High School, 555 East Lake Avenue.

A June 29 wind storm damaged the county courthouse, which is typically the off-site court setting.

The cases include: Pauley v. City of Circleville, Case No. 2012-1150 (Pickaway County); State v. Kareski, Case No. 2012-1242 (Summit County); Mahoning Education Assoc. of Developmental Disabilities v. State Employment Relations Board, Case No. 2012-1378 (Mahoning County); and Mann v. Northgate Investors, LLC, Case No. 2012-1600 (Franklin County). Access court documents related to all four cases. Summaries of these cases are also available.

Chief Justice O’Connor said the four cases were selected for this session from among those already pending either because of their legal concepts or their proximity to Logan County.

Initiated in 1987, the Off-Site Court Program enhances students’ understanding of the legal system by enabling them to attend and observe the proceedings of the Supreme Court in person and to interact with justices, attorneys and court staff.

Schools invited to participate include Bellefontaine, Benjamin Logan, Indian Lake, and Riverside high schools and the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center. Students and their teachers have received curriculum material to study, including summaries of the cases to be argued. Local attorneys have teamed with educators at each participating school to explain Ohio’s judicial system and review case materials.

On the morning of April 24, students will attend a special briefing to ask questions and interact with the justices. In addition, students from each school will be assigned to attend one of the oral arguments. After the assigned case has been argued, each group of students will meet with the case attorneys for a debriefing and discussion of the legal issues in the argument they just heard.

Background information and a video illustrating the program, including footage from past Off-Site Court sessions, is available on the Supreme Court Web site.