Holding Court in Mansfield

Yesterday the Ohio Supreme Court traveled to Mansfield as part of our Off-Site Court Program. Twice a year we travel across the state and hear cases in a county courthouse or at a school.

More than 500 students from 11 schools in Richland County heard one of three oral arguments at Mansfield Senior High School. You can watch a video of the students’ experience here.

But before you click the video and see the process that allows the justices to hold an official court session outside of Columbus, you may be interested in a bit of history.

In the court’s very early days, there were only 3 Supreme Court “judges” instead of 7 justices.  And there was no separate courthouse in which to hear cases. Instead, the judges rode throughout the state on horseback. They called this travel “riding the circuit.” The judges carried law books along with clothing in their saddlebags, and they stayed overnight in homes of local residents when they travelled to a county. 

By 1834, Supreme Court judges rode more than 2,000 miles each year and covered 72 counties across the state. Those pioneer judges really needed an automobile!

Fast forward more than 100 years, and you now see the court again going out to Ohioans. I enjoy our twice-a-year journey because the Off-Site Court Program gives students a chance to see us in action and directly experience oral arguments.  And as a 21st century justice, I’m glad we don’t spend those hours on horseback.

Courtroom to Classroom – Our New Program

Flash for all teachers! The Ohio Supreme Court has just started a new civic education program. Courtroom to Classroom allows students to watch live-streaming video of oral arguments and have local attorneys help them learn more about the judicial system through a real Supreme Court case.

Students from Westland High School in Galloway and London High School were the first to participate.

Last week, two local lawyers met the students in each school to discuss Arlie Risner v. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, a case that was argued on Wednesday.

We justices were asked to decide whether Ohio law allows the Department of Natural Resources to receive money restitution for the value of a deer from a hunter who illegally killed it when the hunter was fined and the ODNR already had possession of the deer’s remains.

After watching the oral arguments online in their classrooms, the attorneys who had prepared the students debriefed them and encouraged them to ask questions about the proceedings they had observed.
 

This program is a great companion to our Off-Site Court Program where the justices travel outside Columbus twice a year to hear oral arguments. Students from the counties we visit watch our oral arguments live either in their high schools or at the county courthouse.  They then can talk to the attorneys who just argued before the court.

With Courtroom to Classroom, students can stay in class yet still benefit from watching live arguments. There is no need to arrange the transportation that is often a financial barrier in bringing students to the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

 

So, teachers – if you think your school would be interested in participating in Courtroom to Classroom, contact courttours@sc.ohio.gov or 614-387-9223 for more information.

Off-Site Court in My Own Backyard

On April 9, I had the rare opportunity to bring my colleagues to my hometown, Toledo, for a formal session of the Ohio Supreme Court.  Twice a year we justices leave the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus to bring oral arguments to high school students, allowing them to personally hear real cases.  We held our 2014 spring Off-Site Program at the University of Toledo College of Law.

More than 350 high school students from 11 high schools in the Toledo area and dozens of law students from the university observed two civil cases and one criminal case. Local attorneys and teachers prepared the students well. After hearing the cases, the students met with the attorneys who argued the cases to ask questions and discuss the legal issues.  Many students mentioned that this was the most interesting part of their day.

Former Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer started the Off-Site Court Program in 1987 in Toledo as part of his efforts to explain the work of our court.   When we returned for the 68th session this year, oral arguments were held for the first time in the College of Law’s McQuade auditorium.   That happens to be the same place where I gave the valedictory speech for my law school class. Holy Toledo! Who knew I would end up on the Supreme Court 37 years later?  It’s just possible that someone who attended the Off-Site Program might be one of our future justices – it very well could be. 

Recess is Over

If you have been following the court schedule, you may have noticed that from July 11 until August 21 the Supreme Court took a bit of a recess in hearing new cases. Of course, in the meantime we justices handled administrative matters and continued to work on our opinions for cases that we have already heard. But the Supreme Court of Ohio is unlike the U.S. Supreme Court in that we do not begin a new term on the first Monday in October and do not have three months off in the summer.

This fall we will again travel for Off-Site Court – this time to Cleveland. We will hear four oral argument cases at the Case Western Reserve University Law School on Tuesday, September 25, and then convene at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Wednesday, September 26 to hear four more cases. Both sessions will begin at 9 a.m., and just as in the past, will be attended by local high school students who have been briefed on the case they will attend by their teachers and volunteer attorneys. Law students will attend Tuesday’s oral arguments. A summary of the eight cases (four civil and four criminal) can be found here.

As always, I look forward to sharing thoughts about the court process beforehand with my colleagues to all students. We enjoy the questions asked by the student participants.

Marion or Bust!

In two weeks, the Supreme Court of Ohio will take its show on the road to Marion for the first off-site court session of 2012. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the program, which was started by the late Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer in 1987 to honor the 200th birthday of the U.S. Constitution.

What is off-site court? Twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, the seven justices travel to a city outside Columbus to hear scheduled oral arguments and allow local high school students to be present.

On Wednesday, April 25, beginning at 9 a.m., cases will be heard at Marion’s historic courthouse. The trip to Marion will be the 63rd time we have held oral arguments in a place other than Columbus.

We also speak beforehand to the students who have been prepared to listen to a particular case and who observe the Ohio Supreme Court in action. As a former teacher, this is my favorite part of the program. I look forward to meeting the students participating from Marion County.

If anyone has questions about this program, send them on to me, or you may read more about off-site court by clicking on this link:
http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/VisitorInfo/offsiteCourt/default.asp.