Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals is Seeking Comments until May 18th on Proposed Amendments to Local Rules 3, 14, 21 and 45

The Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals is seeking comments until May 18th on proposed Amendments to Local Rules 3 (costs), 14 (extensions of time), 21 (oral argument) and 45 (fees for extraordinary writs). According to the Court's press release, comments on the proposed changes can be send to ulv@8thappeals.com until May 18th.

Lawyers Asked to Comment on Proposed Amendments to 6th Circuit Rules and IOPs

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit is proposing "comprehensive amendments" to both the 6th Circuit Rules and IOPs. Interested parties are being asked to email their comments to Leonard Green, Clerk, at ca06-rules_comments@ca6.uscourts.gov no later than July 12, 2012.

Cuyahoga County's Revised Domestic Violence Rule (Local Rule 26) Is Effective Today, 5/1/12

Today, May 1, 2012, is the effective date for Cuyahoga County Domestic Relation's Court's revised Domestic Violence Rule, Local Rule 26. The Court's website also provides access to domestic violence forms, information and FAQ's. All of the Court's Local Rules can be found on the Court's website.

Cuyahoga County Probate Court Posts New Mediation Rules

On September 23, 2011, the Cuyahoga County Probate Court posted changes to its mediation rules that affect Local Rules 11.1, 16.1 and 53.1. The new Rules can be found at this link on the Court's website. As we indicated in a prior post, the Probate Court began offering mediation services earlier this month.

Rules Change Oct. 1st for Practice Before Ohio Supreme Court

A reminder from the Ohio Supreme Court indicates that the following procedural changes will take effect on October 1st for practice before the Court:

• Changes to Rule 1.2 that specify a motion for pro hac vice admission (mandatory for out-of-state attorneys) shall follow the requirements of sections a-e of Gov. Bar R. XII(2)(A)(6), including the required affidavit.
• Changes to Rule 2.2 that establish that the time to appeal to the Supreme Court is tolled (placed on hold) pending the outcome of a sua sponte en banc (consisting of all members of the court) consideration by an appeals court.
• Changes to Rule 8.5 that require copies of jurisdictional memoranda and merit briefs to be single-sided and reduce the number of copies required for jurisdictional memoranda, complaints in original actions and evidence in original actions.
• Changes to Rule 18.3 that requires the Clerk to notify all parties or counsel upon the filing of a certified question of state law.

Click here to find the text of the new rules, which will eventually be posted to the Court's Rules of Court page.

Ohio Supreme Court Issues Standards for Specialized Dockets

The Ohio Supreme Court has just issued standards for specialized dockets in Ohio that will become effective on January 1, 2013, yes 2013. The Court's press release indicates that Ohio already has "nearly 150 specialized dockets ... including drug courts, mental health courts, re-entry courts, OVI courts, veterans courts, sex offender courts, felony non-support courts and domestic violence courts." The new standards, which are contained in new Superintendence Rule 36.02, cover many of the procedural and administrative aspects of setting up and receiving Supreme Court certification of a specialized docket but leave some discretion to the courts creating them. In addition, the new Rule specifically excludes commercial dockets, housing dockets and environmental dockets. The full text of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio are available at the Ohio Supreme Court's website but do not yet contain new Rule 36.02.

Cuyahoga County DR Court Seeks Input for New Rules Committee

The Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court has created a new Rules committee to review and update its current local rules. The committee is seeking input from lawyers, litigants and other interested parties. The committee requests that comments be sent to the following email address:   drlocalrules@cuyahogacounty.us

Future Law Students May Not Have to Take the LSAT

What a relief it would be for future law students if they do not have to take the LSAT? Such a proposal is in the works as part of proposed changes to ABA law school accreditation standards. According to law.com, the chairman of the ABA's committee has indicated that the committee is leaning toward eliminating the test requirement, regarding which 10 law schools have apparently already been excused from 100% compliance. Click here to read the full article, which contains opinions pro and con, as well as more issues that the committee is re-considering, such as the current requirement that law students take at least one externship, clinci or simulation. Click here to read a summary of the proposed changes from the abajournal online.

New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Took Effect This Week

Changes to Rules 8, 26 and 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure became effective this week, on Decemer 1, 2010. The new rules make changes to pleading affirmative defenses, expert witness discovery, and the procedures for summary judgment. The amendments also include an Illustrative Civil Form 52 for the "Report of the Parties' Planning Meeting." A good summary of the new rules can be found at martindale.com.

Cuyahoga County DR Fees Will Increase Effective December 1, 2010

The Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court is increasing its fees on December 1, 2010:

"The Court has revised Local Rule 1 pertaining to Security for Cost effective December 1, 2010.  Under the new rule the advance deposit will increase from $250.00 to $300.00 when a contested divorce is filed where there are children.  Deposits will increase from $100.00 to $200.00 when requests involving parenting modifications or changes to shared parenting plans are filed.  The deposit for filing other post-decree motions will increase from $45.00 to $50.00."

Click here to read a copy of new Local Rule 1.