The Ohio Supreme Court requests public comment on a proposal to repeal Ohio Traffic Rule 16.

Traf. R. 16 states that the Code of Judicial Conduct applies to all judges and mayors, but the code defines a judge as “a lawyer who is authorized to perform judicial functions within a court…”

Because the rule doesn’t apply to non-lawyer mayors, who conduct a mayor’s court, the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct has no jurisdiction of the non-attorney and, therefore, the traffic rule can’t be enforced.

The Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure in Ohio Courts recommends repealing the entire rule, which also gets rid of the sentence: “It shall be the obligation of each mayor to conduct his court and his professional and personal relationships in accordance with the same standards as are required of judges of courts of record.”

The public has until Nov. 12, 2015 to comment on the proposal. Once the 30-day public comment period ends, the commission will make a final recommendation to the Supreme Court. The Court will then decide what action, if any, should be taken.

Comments on this proposal should be submitted in writing to:

Michael Farley
Judicial & Legislative Affairs Counsel
Ohio Supreme Court
65 S. Front St., Seventh Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
or
Michael.Farley@sc.ohio.gov

PDF files may be viewed, printed, and searched using the free Acrobat^® Reader
Acrobat Reader is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.