The inaugural Judicial Assignment Program Annual Report describes the successes achieved through improvements made to the statewide program for assigning judges.

The inaugural Judicial Assignment Program Annual Report describes the successes achieved through improvements made to the statewide program for assigning judges.

The time it takes for the Supreme Court of Ohio to assign a judge to a case after a local court makes a request dropped from more than 20 days in 2022 to less than one day by the end of 2023. The improved response times resulted from an initiative of Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy to bring clarity, transparency, and consistency to the Judicial Assignment Program.

When a sitting judge is unavailable, the chief justice has the authority to assign a sitting or retired judge to serve. The modifications to improve the assignment program made at Chief Justice Kennedy’s direction saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2023. For the assignment of retired judges, the costs declined by about $325,000 last year, even though more retired judges were assigned. Retired judges comprise roughly 80% of assignments.

By the end of 2023, no requests were pending for the assignment of a judge.

Backlog elimination was significantly aided by amending the Guidelines for the Assignment of Judges, which provided clarity on the criteria for assigning judges. This led to refining the online tool used by local courts for judicial assignments, known as the Interactive Generator of Online Requests (IGOR). IGOR was updated to parallel the amended guidelines to improve usability. Additionally, webinars were held to assist judges and court administrators with implementation. These advancements, spearheaded by Chief Justice Kennedy, underscore the Court’s commitment to continuously enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ohio judicial system.

The modifications and successes are described in the inaugural Supreme Court Judicial Assignment Program Annual Report. The report also covers the program history, the number and types of assignments, the costs to assign judges, and a five-year breakdown of the average days to process the requests. An appendix analyzes the costs in each county, for each court. Moving forward, an annual report on the program will be released to ensure transparency and accountability.

“This report demonstrates the judiciary’s commitment to service by improving access to justice to Ohioans through the optimized, timely, and cost-effective administration of the judicial assignment program,” Chief Justice Kennedy said.

In April 2023, Chief Justice Kennedy met with judges across the state to discuss strategies for streamlining judicial assignments. The discussions led to clarifications in the written guidelines for assigning judges in cases where the sitting judge is absent.

Administrative judges may request a judicial assignment under various circumstances, including conflicts of interest; judicial absences due to illness, family emergencies, vacations, or educational commitments; and overburdened dockets or scheduling conflicts.

“As elected officials faced with any challenge, the overriding question we must ask ourselves is what is best for the people we serve,” Chief Justice Kennedy emphasized. “Every decision and solution must revolve around their needs.”