Cleveland Law Library Weblog

CPL Staff Memo on Immigration Enforcement

The Cleveland Public Library sent a memo to staff advising them not to intervene if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents come to library branches to arrest patrons. Executive director and CEO, Felton Thomas, emphasized that interfering with arrests could lead to legal consequences, such as obstruction of justice. Thomas reassured staff that it’s unlikely ICE would target CPL employees but reminded them that ICE agents can legally enter public library spaces. Additionally, the library must protect patron privacy under Ohio law, and staff should direct ICE inquiries about personal information to the library’s legal counsel.

Cleveland Police Drone Policy

Cleveland Police have received approval to use drones under a new policy passed by the Cleveland Community Police Commission in November 2024. The policy allows the use of drones for law enforcement purposes but bans their deployment for crowd control or protest surveillance. Deployments need to be approved by the police chief, and flight paths must be posted online within 48 hours. Videos will be deleted after 30 days, if they are not needed for an investigation.

The Cleveland Police Chief and some city council members are taking issue with the approved drone policy/restrictions.

International Women's Day 2023

To celebrate International Women's Day, we released a new episode of our podcast, Law Library Insights. Episode 2 focuses on equity in the legal field and parental leave policies. Check it out!

Celebrating CLEVNET!

 

On this day, 40 years ago, CLEVNET was created. What started as a small consortium between the Cleveland Public Library and the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, has expanded across Ohio. Today, CLEVNET has 47 member libraries that operate in 12 counties and proudly serve nearly one million people across Northeast Ohio. The CLEVNET system benefits libraries and patrons, alike. Through this partnership, CLEVNET libraries can share cataloging services, administration, computer equipment, professional support, and consolidate their circulation. As a patron of a CLEVNET library, you can access the vast collections of every participating library, that is over 12 million items at your fingertips. CLEVNET has been vital to the library ecosystem of Northeast Ohio. The Cleveland Law Library has been a proud member of CLEVNET since 1985. We are here to congratulate CLEVNET on this momentous milestone! Here’s to another 40 years!

Effective Today, 3/2/2022, Masks are Optional at the Cleveland Law Library

As of today, 3/2/22, the Cleveland Law Library is adopting the same mask rules laid out in the latest Administrative Order signed by Administrative Judges from the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court, the Cuyahoga County Probate Court, and the Ohio  Eighth District Court of Appeals. As these Courts are, we are following the science regulating the wearing of masks. The bottom line of what this means is that masks are currently optional, but certainly permissible, and unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to wear a mask at all times in the County's 3 courthouses, including the Lakeside Courthouse. Anyone who needs a mask upon entry will still be provided one upon request. If COVID numbers change in the future, our mask guidance will change with it.

Ohio Supreme Court Creates Online Map of Courts with Specialized Dockets

The Ohio Supreme Court has created a great, interactive map of all Ohio Courts with specialized dockets. Users can search by Jurisdiction, Judge, County, and Docket Type. A search of Cuyahoga County showed that

Cleveland Municipal Court has Human Trafficking, Mental Health, Drug, and Veterans Treatment dockets

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas (General Division) has Human Trafficking, Mental Health, and Drug dockets

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas (Juvenile Division) has Mental Health, Drug, and Family Dependency dockets

South Euclid Municipal Court has a Mental Health docket

Click here to read the Ohio Supreme Court's press release.

Our Law Library, the Cleveland Law Library, Dedicated a Little Free Library at Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center Yesterday, 4/18/17

In collaboration with the FBI Citizens Academy Foundation of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court, our Law Library, the Cleveland Law Library, dedicated a Little Free Library at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center yesterday on April 18, 2017. We believe that this is the first LFL to be installed in a courthouse in the United States.
This LFL is located in the 2nd floor lobby of the Justice Center near the balcony that overlooks the 1st floor entrance and lobby. It is conveniently located between the Clerk's office and the cafeteria. Our Charter Number is 40074, and it will soon be posted to the map located at littlefreelibrary.org.   After a lovely ceremony and reception yesterday at 1:00 p.m., we saw a little girl take the very 1st book from the LFL! Seeing that assured me that it will be a success and cemented my belief that there can never be too many opportunities for children and teens to read!

This is the 2nd LFL we have created this year. See our prior post about the LFL we established with the Cleveland Public Library. 

Three Cheers for Judge Matia and the Cuyahoga County Drug Court!

Three cheers for Judge Matia and the Cuyahoga County Drug Court. A recent article on cleveland.com described the joyous graduation ceremony for 25 individuals who passed a rigorous, year-long Drug Court Program that allowed them to get clean and rebuild their lives. It will also allow them to avoid jail time and have their drug convictions expunged. The Drug Court Program has been been operating since 2009, and over 300 people have successfully passed through its doors. The mission of the Drug Court is stated on its website as:

"Stop the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and related criminal activity. Drug courts promote recovery through a coordinated response to offenders dependent on alcohol and other drugs. Realization of these goals requires a team approach, including cooperation and collaboration of the judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, probation authorities, other corrections personnel, law enforcement, pretrial services agencies, TASC programs, evaluators, an array of local service providers, and the greater community”

E-filing Will become Mandatory in the 8th District Court of Appeals on Monday, March 3, 2014

According to the web site of the 8th District Court of Appeals: "Administrative Judge Mary J. Boyle, the judges of the Eighth District Court of Appeals, and Clerk of Courts Andrea Rocco announce that on Monday, March 3, 2014, electronic filing (e-filing) will become mandatory in the Eighth District Court of Appeals. 

 All appellate documents and original actions must be filed electronically, except as outlined in the court’s local rules.  See, Loc.App.R. 13.1 – Electronic Filing."

The e-filing portal can be accessed below:

Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts E-Filing Portal

Click here for the Local Rules on e-filing.

Local Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Anna Faraglia Wins State of Ohio Outstanding Prosecutor Award

Congratulations go to local Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Anna Faraglia, who just won the Outstanding Prosecutor Award for the State of Ohio. Ms. Faraglia has handled some very high-profile cases, including being part of the team that prosecuted Ariel Castro. According to a news release, Ms. Faraglia received her award from the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.