The Supreme Court of Ohio

The history of the Supreme Court of Ohio begins with the history of our state.

When Ohio was carved out of the Northwest Territory and its first Constitution adopted in 1802, the Supreme Court of Ohio was established as the highest court in the state. That Constitution, which provided for a Court consisting of three Judges, required that a session of the Supreme Court be held each year in every county of the state.

Those early Judges spent a major portion of their time riding horseback over the state. They were usually accompanied by members of the bar who went along to present the cases to the Court. The Judges, in order to make room in their saddlebags for fresh linen, carried very few law books with them. They carried most of the law in their heads. Many of their early sessions were not held in the Statehouse--or even a courthouse--but were held in the homes of various individuals in serveral counties.

From those early days until the amendment of the Constitution in 1912, the number of Judges on the Supreme Court varied from three to six. By the amendment in 1912, however, the membership of the Court was fixed at seven, comprised of a Chief Justice and six Judges. That is the present size of the Court. In 1968, the Constitution was further amended to identify each of the other six member Justices

The Chief Justice and six Justices are elected to six-year terms on a non-partisan ballot. Two Justices are chosen at the general election in even-numbered years. In the year when the Chief Justice runs, voters pick three members of the court. A person must be an attorney with at least six years experience in the practice of law to be elected or appointed to the Court. Appointments are made by the Governor for vacancies that may occur between elections.

The Supreme Court occupies the Ohio Judicial Center located at 65 South Front St. in Columbus. This new center was opened on February 17, 2004. Maps and pictures of the center are available on the Ohio Judicial Center website.

The Supreme Court usually hears oral arguments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am until noon. The desks immediately in front of the bench are for the attorneys who will present oral arguements. Behind them are seats for the public. All sessions of the Court are open. Seats along both sides of the Court are for the law clerks of the Chief Justice and Justices. The desk on the Court's left is for the Marshal.

At exactly 9am, the Marshal of the Supreme Court asks the attorneys and spectators to rise and announces, "The Honorable Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio."

Members of the Court, robed in black, file in through a side door and take their places behind the granite bench. The Chief Justice is in the center with three Justices on either side. The most senior Justices sit nearest to the center of the bench. The members of the Court remain standing as the Marshall opens Court, "Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The Honorable Supreme Court of Ohio is now in open session pursuant to adjournment."

The Chief Justice announces the first case and the name of the attorney who will make the first presentation. The attorney walks across the red carpet to the lectern in front of the bench and begins his argument. Normally, arguments are limited to 15 minutes, but in some cases the time is increased to 30 minutes.

The Marshal keeps track of the time and turns on a white light on the lectern when the attorney has two minutes of time remaining. A red light indicates when the time has expired.

Prior to the arguments, members of the Court have read summaries of the case and briefs of the legal arguments of each side. The oral presentations of the attorneys are often marked by sharp questioning from the bench.

The Court generally hears four or five cases in a day. When the final argument has been given in the last case on the day's docket, the Marshal asks those in the Court to rise and announces, "Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! This open session of the Honorable Supreme Court of Ohio now stands adjourned."

The Justices file out and go to a conference room near the Courtroom to discuss the cases that have been heard. The only person with them in the conference room is the Reporter of Decisions, who records the Justices votes.

The Chief Justice calls on each Justice to present his or her view on the case. In cases where one of the Justices or the Chief Justice does not participate, a judge of one of the courts of appeals is chosen to sit on the Supreme Court. If the Chief Justice does not participate, the most senior Justice sits as Acting Chief Justice.

It takes at least four votes to decide a case. When the vote has been taken, small balls with numbers representing the Justices who voted with the majority are put in a leather bottle with a thin neck. The senior Justice shakes the bottle and pours out one ball. Another Justice looks at the ball and announces who has been selected to write the Opinion of the Court in the case. The ball is not put back in the bottle until each of the Justices has been assigned the writing of a case. The writing of the opinions is done by random selection and the work loads of the Chief Justice and Justices are nearly equal.

When the majority opinion is written, it is circulated to members of the Court for comment. Members in the majority may choose to write a concurring opinion. Those in dissent generally prepare a dissenting opinion.

Opinions are announced on Wednesday--except for some special releases--and become the governing law throughout the state. Several days after being issued, the opinions are printed in the Ohio Official Reports Advance Sheets and the Ohio State Bar Association Report. They are eventually printed in the volumes of Ohio Official Reports and in North East Reports. These volumes are available in law libraries throughout the state, the nation and the world. The Ohio Constitution requires that all actions of the Supreme Court be published. There are no "unreported decisions."