Ohio Legal Research Guide

Ohio Courts

Structure of the Judiciary in Ohio

An "Ohio case" can be one heard in the State Court System or the

Federal Court System.

For an explanation of the hierachy of the Ohio State Court System, look at the Structure of the Ohio Judicial System Chart on the Ohio Supreme Court's webpage. A similar diagram is on the U.S. Courts page: Structure of the U.S. Courts

Places to Find an Ohio State Case:

In print:

The Ohio Official Reports:

All Ohio Supreme Court decisions are included. The Reporter of Decisions selects certain appellate and municipal cases to publish in the Ohio Official Reports. See Rules for Reporting Opinions.

Ohio State Reports 3d [Ohio Room KFO45 .A23 ] - Ohio Supreme Court Decisions; Ohio Appellate Reports 3d [Ohio Room KFO48 .A241 ]; Ohio Miscellaneous Reports 2d [Ohio Room KFO48 .A241 ] (Selected common pleas and municipal court decisions, decisions of the Court of Claims, Federal District Court decisions - Few decisions of these courts are published). 

New Officially Reported cases will first appear in the Ohio State Bar Association Report, sometimes called the "green books".

Prior Official Reports, in reverse chronological order:

• Ohio State Reports 2d; Ohio Appellate Reports 2d; Ohio Miscellaneous Reports
• Ohio State Reports, Ohio Appellate Reports
• Ohio Reports

Unofficial print reporters: There are lots of unofficial reporters, many of which are no longer published. For a list, see Ohio Case Law: Where to Find It by the Ohio Supreme Court Law Library. The following articles discuss some of these unofficial case reporters: Ervin H.Pollack and J. Russell Leach, Ohio's Reported Decisions -- An Integrated Survey , 11 Ohio State Law Journal 413 (1950) and Paul Richert, An Update on Judicial Reporting , 41 Ohio State Law Journal 675 (1980). .

One unofficial reporter that is still published currently is North Eastern Reporter, now in its second series,KF135.N6 N62  [Second Level Library]. It includes Ohio Supreme Court and appellate decisions for Ohio and other northeast states. Volumes include West headnotes, which can help find more cases dealing with the same legal issue.

The library has some special databases of unreported cases: Ohio Appellate Decisions on Fiche KFO48.O5(Law Library Microform Consortium, 1982- 92) and Anderson's Unreported Ohio Appellate Cases KFO48.A5 (Anderson Publishing Co., 1990).

Online:

Court web sites: The Supreme Court of Ohio has a database of Supreme Court, appellate, and reported Court of Claims and municipal court decisions. The dates of coverage vary by court, but in general, there is nothing older than 1992. The web site for each appellate court may have additional cases. The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas posts some of its opinions on its web site. Some common pleas courts have online dockets where the full text of documents, including opinions, are available. To find common pleas court dockets, go to: Butler County Statewide Court Records Search. For more docket links, try: LLRX Court Rules, Forms and Dockets.

Fee databases: Lexis ( OH State Cases Combined ) , Lexis Academic Universe and Westlaw (OH-CS) have Ohio reported and unreported cases. Lexis and Westlaw passwords are provided to law students. Lexis Academic Universe is accessible via Ohiolink with a valid CSU Id or by visiting a campus library.

"Free" Lexis on the web: Lexisone.com has the last five years of case law, searchable with the Lexis search engine. Free but requires registration. Older cases can be purchased from Lexis Nexis A la Carte

Further Reading: How to Find an Ohio Case by the Cleveland Law Library

Reported vs. Unreported Ohio Decisions:

If a decision appears in an official reporter (Ohio Official Reporter or Ohio Reports), it is a "reported" decision. Generally, all Ohio Supreme Court decisions are "reported". The Reporter of Decisions decides which appellate and municipal cases appear in the Ohio Official Reports. See Rules for Reporting Opinions.

In the past, reported decisions were controlling authority in the district, and "unreported" opinions were merely "persuasive", meaning they are controlling only as to the parties. Prior versions of the Supreme Court Rules for Reporting opinions stated that unreported opinions "may be" cited in limited circumstances.

As of May 1, 2002, the Supreme Court abolished the distinction between "controlling" and "persuasive" opinions, based merely upon whether a case appears in the Official Reporter. Opinions for all cases decided on and after May 1, 2002 may be cited as legal authority and it is up to the court what weight to give the opinion. See Supreme Court - Revisions to the Manual of Citations and Rules for Reporting Opinions, Rule 4.

Ohio Revised Code 2503.20 states that, "All such cases shall be reported in accordance with this section before they are recognized by and receive the official sanction of any court." Despite this code section, attorneys and judges frequently cite to cases that are not officially reported. See Ervin H.Pollack and J. Russell Leach, Ohio's Reported Decisions -- An Integrated Survey , 11 Ohio State Law Journal 413 (1950).

Federal Court opinions:

District Court: Two district courts try cases in Ohio, the Northern District and the Southern District. Reported cases appear in the Federal Supplement series, KF120 .F42, located on the second floor of the library. Reported and unreported cases are available on Lexis; Lexis Academic Universe and Westlaw. Recent notable cases can be found at the Northern District of Ohio Web Site and the Southern District of Ohio Web Site. Copies of recent opinions are free on the federal Pacer docket service, but a search by party name has a minimal cost.

Appellate Court: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee District Courts. Reported cases appear in the Federal Reporter series, KF110.F42, located on the second floor of the library. Reported and unreported cases are available on Lexis, Lexis Academic Universe and Westlaw. Published opinions issued since July 1, 1999 and unpublished opinions issued since October 1, 2004 appear on the Sixth Circuit's Web Site. For opinions from 1995 to 1999 see Emory School of Law - 6th Circuit Opinions. Findlaw has Sixth Circuit opinions from 1996 to current. Copies of recent opinions are free on the federal Pacer docket service. Searching is not free, but the cost is minimal.

Published/Reported v. Unpublished/Unreported:

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals now allows citation of all unpublished opinions. See Sixth Circuit Rule 28(g). This was in response to a recent change in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, mandating that for cases decided on and after Jan. 1, 2007, appellate courts may not restrict the citation of unpublished cases. See Fed. R. App. P. 32.1, also see comments on this rule.

U.S. Supreme Court: The highest court for both state and federal cases. See Where to obtain US Supreme Court Opinions and Cleveland Marshall's Internet Legal Research Guide.

Further reading: Zimmerman's Ohio Legal Research Guide: Judiciary

Deciphering Legal Citations:

• See Cleveland Marshall Law Library Publications: How to Read a Legal Citation
• For more information on the meaning of citation abbreviations, see SIU Law Library's Common Legal Abbreviations and Cardiff's Index to Legal Abbreviations, and Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, KF246 .P74 2001

How to Find a Case Concerning a Certain Subject

• Use secondary sources to find cases on a particular subject.

• Try a keyword search on Lexis, Lexis Academic Universe or Westlaw. Lexisone.com has the last five years of federal and state case law, searchable with the Lexis search engine, free with registration. Findlaw has search capability for Sixth Circuit (1996-) and U.S. Supreme Court cases (1893-). The Ohio Supreme Court's web site has a searchable database with a search engine, containing Ohio Supreme Court and Appellate court opinions, with decisions no earlier than 1992.

• If you are researching a statute or court rule, you can consult an annotated copy of the statutes or rules. You can also do a search on Lexis, Westlaw, etc. for the code section number or rule number.
• Further reading:"Researching Case Law" by Kyle K. Courtney, North Eastern University of Law,

  www.s law .neu.edu/library/ Case law .LSSC.2006.ppt.

Updating a Case

Shepard's (Lexis) or Keycite (Westlaw) lists subsequent cases that cited the case in question, and whether the subsequent case overruled or followed the case in question. In order to make sure a case is "still good law", don't stop at Shepard's or Keycite. It is possible the case is no longer good law, but no subsequent case ever cited that case as overruled. Looking at the Table of Authorities in Lexis will help determine whether the underpinning cases cited in a decision have been overturned. Thorough research of a question through electronic searches and/or secondary sources should reveal any changes in the law. Additionally, you should also check the statutes to see if the case was overruled by statute.

Shepards is available electronically to law school students and faculty via Lexis passwords and to other Law Library users at Reference Area workstations. Keycite is available to students and faculty via their Westlaw passwords.

Further reading: Cleveland Marshall's Citation Checking Guide

Court Rules

There are Ohio court rules that apply statewide, such as the Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rules of Evidence. Ohio appellate, common pleas and municipal courts have their own local rules of procedure. Federal courts also have rules that apply to the entire federal system, as well as local rules of court.

Unannotated Rules:

• Ohio Rules of Court -  (West Group, 1972/73 - ) KFO 529 .A2 [ Current volumes in Reserve & Reference, superseded volumes Ohio Room] - Statewide rules, federal rules, local rules for federal courts and some state courts.
• Rules Governing the Courts of Ohio (Anderson Publishing Co., 1972 - ) KFO 529 .A197 [Current volumes in Reserve & Reference, superseded volumes Ohio Room]- similar to the West publication, cited above
• Ohio Rules of Court - The Ohio Supreme Court web site does a good job of posting current Ohio rules. For proposed and recently passed rules see: Rule Amendment Search.
• Courts typically post local rules on their web site. For links to common pleas court local rules on the web, see Cleveland Law Library - Municipal and County Courts. For links to common pleas and appellate court rules, see LLRX Court Rules, Dockets and Forms. You can also try Ohio Supreme Court - District Courts, which links to appellate court web sites.
• Federal Rules of Court - On the U.S. Court's web page. This page also has links for proposed rules.
• Federal Local Rules: Visit the courts' web page: U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit; Northern District of Ohio  Southern District of Ohio; Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Ohio  

Annotated Rules:

• Pages Ohio Revised Code - KF 30 1953 .P3 Civil Procedure Rules volume, Titles 21-29 contain additional rules dealing with Appeals, Juvenile and Criminal matters. Online on Lexis ( OHRULE )
• Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code - KFO 30 1953 .A4 See Rules of Court volumes (Criminal, Civil, Misc., Juvenile, Court of Claims, and Evidence). Online on Westlaw ( OH-RULES ).

"Legislative History" or Background Materials for Rules:

• The Ohio Supreme Court's web site may have commentary available via the Rule Amendments Search
• Try Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service Annotated (a.k.a. Ohio Legislative Service Pamphlet), KFO30.A4 B31. In the final volume for the year in which the rule was passed or amended, look in the index table for the rule number. The index will tell you the volume and page number where you can find the rule changes, and possibly commentary on the rule. (example: 3R-16 is volume 3 page R-16)
• Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated or Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code may reprint committee comments in the rules volumes.
• Law review and journal articles may discuss why a particular rule was enacted or changed.
• You may want to contact the Ohio Supreme Court and/or the court committee that enacted the rule to see if more materials are available.

Further reading: Zimmerman's Ohio Legal Research Guide: Judiciary

Dockets

Court dockets indicate the documents filed in the case (complaint, answer, motion for summary judgment, etc.), and any orders issued by the court throughout the pendency of the case. Some dockets have links to digital copies of the orders and documents filed in the case.

• Ohio Supreme Court Docket: Docket goes back to 1985. Full text of documents available from Dec. 1, 2006.
• Ohio Appellate Court Dockets: LLRX Court Rules, Dockets and Forms; Links to Appellate Court Web Sites:Ohio Supreme Court - District Courts.
• Common Pleas Court Dockets: LLRX Court Rules, Dockets and Forms; Links to Common Pleas Court Web Sites: Butler County Statewide Court Records Search. Also try: Related Web sites, Ohio Courts on the Ohio Supreme Court's page.
• Cuyahoga County Common Pleas and Eighth District Appellate Docket- Search for criminal and civil appeals under "civil"
• Cuyahoga County Probate Court Docket
• Pacer Federal Dockets: Charges 8 cents a page for search results and documents retrieved, but opinions are free.
• U.S. Supreme Court Docket

Further reading: Dockets Online, power point presentation by Kathleen Sasala, May 23, 2007

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, July 3, 2007