The Ohio Supreme Court today adopted several amendments related to case inventories in the Rules of Superintendence (Sup.R. 38). The new rules take effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

Under Sup.R. 38, judges are required to conduct a case inventory by Oct. 1 of each year. With today’s adoption, new judges will now be required to complete a case inventory within three months of taking office instead of three months from the date of initial election or appointment. The new rules also added instructions for both new and experienced judges on how to properly inventory cases.

The rules will ensure an accurate count of pending cases and will evaluate the court’s case management practices. It will also allow new judges to review all pending cases to determine if there is a conflict of interest and to reassign cases immediately to avoid potential case delay.

Technology advances also have allowed courts to move from paper case files to electronic case files. For courts maintaining electronic case files, conducting a “physical” case inventory no longer is possible. The Court removed the word “physical” from Sup.R. 38 and stated “case inventory” can include the review of physical and/or electronic case files.

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