Ohio Court Rules and Dockets
Court Rules
-FInd Unannotated Rules
-Find Rules with Annotations
-Find "legislative history" for an Ohio court rule
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- Ohio Rules of Court - (West Group, 1972/73 - ) KFO 529 .A2 [ Current volumes in Reserve & Reference, superseded volumes Ohio Room] - Statewide rules, federal rules, local rules for federal courts and some state courts.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Governing the Courts of Ohio (Anderson Publishing Co., 1972 - ) KFO 529 .A197 [Current volumes in Reserve & Reference, superseded volumes Ohio Room]- similar to the West publication, cited above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:
Court Webpages and Dockets - Legal Research Workstation
Resources for Online Court Dockets Research Guide
Dockets Online, power point presentation by Kathleen Sasala, May 23, 2007
SA , July 3, 2007