In The County Municipal Court, Morrow County , Ohio

Local Rules of Court

The Court hereby adopts the following rules which shall be applicable in all cases filed in this Court.

I. GENERAL RULES OF COURT

1. TERMS, HOURS AND SESSIONS OF COURT: The Morrow County Municipal Court shall sit continuously and not be divided into terms. The office of the clerk of the Morrow Court Municipal Court shall be open Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM until 5: PM. subject to the availability of personnel. All sessions of the Morrow County Municipal Court shall begin promptly at 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM unless other wise directed by the Judge. The Court shall close for all legal holidays observed by the public offices of Morrow County , Ohio or when the Morrow County Courthouse is otherwise closed. The Court may be closed or it's hours of operation changed at any time without prior notice by order of the Judge of the Morrow County Municipal Court.

2. AUDIO RECORD: Unless otherwise provided in these rules, all proceedings before this Court, shall be recorded by an audio electronic recording device provided by the Court. All jury trials where the Local Rule 3 deposit is timely made or waived by the Court and all other proceedings where a written request for stenographic record is filed and the Local 3 deposit is timely made or waived by the Court, will be recorded by stenographic court reporter. No record shall be required of any proceedings in the small claims division of this Court.

3. STENOGRAPHIC RECORD: When a written request for stenographic record is filed or where a request for jury trial is filed, the party making such request shall deposit with the Court the sum of $75.00 to cover the minimum 1/2 day stenographer's fee. The deposit shall be made with the request for stenographic record or in the case of a request for jury trial, seven (7) days before the date set for such trial. In criminal cases, this deposit may be waived where an affidavit or other evidence of the requesting party's inability to make the required deposit is filed with his or her request for jury trial or his or her request for stenographic record and such request is approved by the Court. Unless the requesting party notifies this Court to cancel his or her request for jury trial before 3:30 p.m. on the last business day before the date set for trial, the fee shall be assessed against the requesting party whether or not the case goes to trial. Failure to timely make this deposit or file for and receive a waiver thereof shall be deemed a waiver of or withdrawal of any request for stenographic record.

4. COURT RECORDS:

Inspection of Records. All indexes, dockets, journals, and file records maintained in accordance with law by the clerk of Morrow County Municipal Court shall be open to public inspection during regular business hours in a manner that does not interfere with the normal operation of the clerk's office. Other case file material or audio electronically recorded court proceedings shall only be inspected with permission of the Court. All inspections shall be made under the supervision of court personnel. Original papers and tapes shall not be removed from the office of the clerk.

Fee for Copies. A charge of $1.00 per page shall be made for a photostatic copy of any document. Copy fees shall be paid in advance. A charge of $8.00 per hour, prorated for any part thereof, shall be made where any court personnel's time in excess of five (5) minutes is required to collect, collate, copy or otherwise make ready or available court records for inspection. Any such fee shall be deposited in advance based upon the clerk's reasonable estimation of the time required.

5. COUNSEL OF RECORD: When counsel is retained or appointed to represent any party, such attorney shall immediately notify the clerk in writing of such representation. Any counsel intending to withdraw from representation must submit a written request therefor and such counsel shall appear at the next scheduled court proceeding for such case unless substitute counsel has appeared of record or unless prior leave is granted by the Court. Withdrawal considerations shall be in conformity with the Code of Professional Responsibility.

6. COURT APPOINTED COUNSEL FEE: Any court appointed counsel who fails to file his or her request for payment of court appointed counsel fees within sixty (60) days after the case is finally disposed of by the Court shall forfeit the right to receive that portion of such fees normally reimbursed to the County by the State. If the fee is paid in full by the County and reimbursement by the State is later refused, the County may deduct the unreimbursed amount of their payment from future court appointed counsel fees due to that applicant.

7. FEES AND COSTS: Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 1901.26, the Court hereby establishes the Schedule of Fees and Costs and Costs for civil and criminal actions and proceedings in this Court as set forth in Appendix A. Such schedule together with any amendments or modifications thereof shall be posted at a location in or near the office of the clerk of the Morrow County Municipal Court.

II CASE MANAGEMENT IN CRIMINAL CASES

1. PURPOSE: The purpose of this rule is to establish, pursuant to M.C. Sup. R 18, a system for criminal case management that will provide for the fair and impartial administration of criminal cases. These rules shall be construed and applied to eliminate unnecessary delay and expense for all parties involved in the County Municipal Court system.

2. JUDICIAL STEPS: All criminal cases shall be managed in the following judicial steps.

            A. Arraignment: All criminal and traffic arraignments shall be held at 9:00 a.m. each Thursday morning except holidays unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

            B. Pre-trials: There shall be no pre-trial conferences set by the assignment clerk in any criminal case unless the defendant is represented by an attorney and personally or through his or her attorney files a written time waiver as to the time within which said case must be tried under Section 2945.72 of Ohio Revised Code.

            C. Plea Agreements: Negotiated pleas, where a charge is reduced or dismissed, will be accepted by the Court only where the prosecuting attorney or Village Solicitor provides to the Court in writing or on the record a statement that the complaining party or the arresting officer was consulted concerning the proposed plea agreement and he or she approved the proposed plea agreement or that his or her approval was unreasonably withheld together with the Prosecutor’s or Solicitor’s reasons why the withheld approval was unreasonable. The arresting officer or the complaining party may also personally appear at the time of disposition and state his or her approval or disapproval along with any reasons therefore before the Court accepts or rejects the proposed agreement.

            D. Supplemental Appearance:

(1) Personal Appearance: All cases resolved at pre-trial shall proceed immediately to supplemental arraignment if the court is available for such purpose. Otherwise, all cases resolved at pre-trial shall be scheduled for supplemental arraignment within 15 days.

(2) Written Appearance:

(a) For purposes of Traffic Rule 12, the following shall be considered “exceptional circumstances” in all traffic cases in the Morrow County Municipal Court where the defendant has previously appeared personally or through counsel:

i.  The defendant is not a resident of Morrow County, Ohio.

ii. The defendant is a resident of Morrow County, Ohio, but defendant’s personal appearance in court would cause the defendant to lose one half (1/2) day or more of gainful employment.

(b) If defendant meets either of these “exceptional circumstances”, defendant may submit, through his or her attorney of record, a written motion pursuant to Traffic Rule 12 and an agreed judgment entry evidencing defendant’s plea of guilty or no contest to the original charge or to an amended charge. The judgment entry shall contain the agreed disposition of the case, a waiver of personal appearance and consent that judgment and sentencing may be pronounced against the defendant in his or her absence. The agreed judgment entry must be approved by the defendant, the defendant’s counsel, and the assistant prosecuting attorney.

(c) Before the Court will accept the agreed judgment entry it must be accompanied by the following:

i. An attorney’s trust check, money order, certified check or bank check covering the total amount of the unsuspended portion of any fine and the court costs.

ii. Defendant’s driver’s license, if the defendant’s driver’s license will be suspended and is not presently held by the Court.

iii. Proof that defendant’s operation of the vehicle was covered by insurance or other proof of financial responsibility as required by Ohio Revised Code Section 4509.101(A) and 4509.45.

            E. Motions:

(1) Pursuant to Rule 47 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, all Motions to Suppress Evidence or Motions in Limine in O.M.V.I. cases will be determined without oral hearing upon brief written statements of the reasons in support of and in opposition to the motion. Motions not in conformity with Criminal Rule 47 will not be entertained by the office. For such a motion to be in conformity, it must contain the following:

(a) The specific grounds upon which motion is based

(b) An affidavit of such facts which, if uncontroverted, would be sufficient to establish a prima facie case for the submitting party

(c) Citations to authority in support of the position of the submitting party. Ohio authority is to be cited in all instances where it exists and only thereafter will non-Ohio authorities be cited.

(2) All other motions shall be made in writing and accompanied by a written memorandum containing the arguments of counsel. Motions must be filed within the time limits established by the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure. Such motions shall be set for oral hearing.

            F. Trials: Each case not resolved at pretrial shall be set for trial to the Court. All court trials shall be held on Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. unless otherwise ordered by the Court. If a jury demand is timely filed, the case will be moved to the jury trial schedule. Any party filing a demand for trial by jury shall notify the Court by 3:30 p.m. on the last business day preceding his or her trial of any withdrawal of demand for jury or change of plea, otherwise jury costs will be assessed to his or her case.

            G. Pre-Jury Trial Pre-trial: All criminal and traffic cases set for jury trial and not resolved at pre-trial shall be assigned for a pre-jury trial pre-trial to be held at 10:00 a.m. on the last business day preceding the day set for jury trial.

            H. Sentencing: Sentencing shall take place after a plea of guilty or no contest, a finding of guilty by the Court or verdict of guilty by the jury or within 10 days after a pre-sentence report is received by the Court.

III CASE MANAGEMENT IN CIVIL CASES

1. PURPOSE: The purpose of this rule is to establish, pursuant to M.C. Sup. R 18, a system for civil case management which will achieve the prompt and fair disposal of civil cases.

2. COURT COSTS DEPOSIT: Any person filing a civil action or proceeding shall deposit with his or her Complaint the corresponding court cost deposit set forth in attached Exhibit A unless an affidavit or other evidence of such party’s inability to make the required deposit is approved by the Court. The clerk shall refuse to accept the filing of any complaint if the required deposit is not included.

3. COSTS DEPOSIT FOR JURY TRIALS IN CIVIL CASES: Any party demanding trial by jury in a civil case shall deposit, in addition to the usual court cost deposit, the sum of $150.00 with their written demand unless an affidavit or other evidence of such party’s inability to make the required deposit is approved by the Court. The clerk shall refuse to accept the filing of a jury demand if the deposit is not included. The party shall also file the number of Jurors requested consistent with Civil Rule 48.

4. SCHEDULING OF EVENTS: The scheduling of a case begins when a civil cases is filed. Thereafter, the case is managed in five (5) clerical steps and five (5) judicial steps.

            A. CLERICAL STEPS:

(1) Summons shall be served in accordance with the Ohio Rules of Procedure. In the event there is a failure of service, the clerk shall notify counsel immediately. If counsel fails to obtain service of summons within six (6) months from the date the cause of action was filed, then the clerk shall notify counsel that the case will be dismissed in ten (10) days unless good cause is shown to the contrary.

(2) Upon perfection of service, the clerk shall notify counsel of the default and that a failure to submit an entry within fifteen (15) days may result in the case being dismissed.

(3) After any responsive pleading is filed, the clerk shall immediately forward said pleading and file to the Judge, so the matter may be set for a hearing.

(4) If no action has been taken on a file for a six (6) month period and the case is not set for trial, then the clerk shall notify the party that the matter will be dismissed within one (1) week unless good cause is shown.

(5) When a file is marked “settlement entry to come” and the entry is not received within thirty (30) days, then the clerk shall notify the party that this case will be dismissed unless the entry is received within ten (10) days.

            B. JUDICIAL STEPS:

                        (1) Motions:

(a) All motions must be in writing and accompanied by a written memorandum containing citations or the arguments of counsel. Opposing counsel shall answer in like manner within fourteen (14) days thereafter. All motions will be considered submitted at the end of said fourteen (14) day period unless time is extended by the Court.

(b) There will be no oral hearings granted in said motions unless the parties request an oral hearing in writing and the Court deems it necessary.

                        (2) Pre-trials:

(a) For the purpose of this rule, “pre-trial” shall mean a Court supervised conference chiefly designed to produce an amicable settlement. The term “party” or “parties” used hereinafter shall mean the party or parties to the action, and/or, his, hers, or their attorney of record.

(b) Any attorney for a party to the action, who fails to attend at a scheduled pre-trial conference without just cause being shown, may be punished for contempt of court.

(c) Notice of pre-trial conference shall be given to all counsel of record by mail and/or given by telephone from the assignment commissioner not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the conference. Any application for continuance of the conference shall be addressed to the clerk.

(d) Counsel attending the pre-trial conference must have complete authority to stipulate on items of evidence and must have full settlement authority.

(e) The primary purpose of the pre-trial conference shall be to achieve an amicable settlement of the controversy in suit.

(f) The Court shall attempt to narrow legal issues, to reach stipulations as to facts in controversy and in general, to shorten the time and expense of trial. The Court will file a pre-trial statement to become part of the record and the case embracing all stipulations, admissions and other matters which have come before it in the pre-trial. The Court shall, at that time determine whether or not trial briefs should be submitted and shall fix a date when they are to be filed.

(g) Any judge presiding at pre-trial conference or trial shall have the authority to dismiss the action for want of prosecution on motion of defendant upon failure of plaintiff, and/or his counsel to appear in person at ay pre-trial conference or trial; to order the plaintiff to proceed with the case and to decide and determine all matters ex parte upon failure of the defendant  to appear in person or by counsel at any pre-trial conference or trial as required; to make such order as the Court may deem appropriate under all the circumstances.

(h) If the case is not settled at pre-trial, then the case will be set for trial at a time agreeable to all parties.

(3) Trials: Each case not resolved at pre-trial shall be set for trial to the Court. All court trials shall be held on Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. unless otherwise ordered by the Court. If a jury demand is timely filed and the jury trial deposit is timely made or waived by the Court, the case will be moved to the jury trial schedule. All attorneys shall notify the Court by 1:00 p.m. of the day preceding their trial of any change in the status of the case or any jury costs incurred by the Court shall be assessed to the case

(4) Continuances:

(a) No party shall be granted a continuance of a trial or a hearing without a written motion from the party or his counsel stating the reason for the continuance.

(b) When a continuance is requested for the reason that counsel is scheduled to appear in another case assigned for trial on the same date in the same or another trial court of this state, the case which was first set for trial shall have priority and shall be tried on the date assigned. Criminal cases assigned for trial have priority over civil cases assigned for trial. The granting of any other request for continuance of a scheduled trial is a matter within the discretion of the trial court.

(c) If a designated trial attorney has such a number of cases assigned for trial in courts of this state so as to cause undue delay in the disposition of such cases, the administrative judge may require the trial attorney to provide a substitute trial attorney. If the trail attorney was appointed by the Court, the Court shall appoint a substitute trial attorney.

                        (5) Judgment Entries:

(a) Counsel for the party in whose favor an order or judgment is rendered shall prepare a journal entry. That entry shall be submitted to opposing counsel within five (5) days of the decision. Opposing counsel shall approve or reject the entry within five (5) days. Within fifteen (15) days of the decision, the journal entry shall be submitted to the Judge, or thereafter, the Court will prepare the journal entry and an additional cost of $25.00 per page shall be assessed against the defaulting party.

(b) Entries of settlement may be filed at any time. The avoidance of trial by settlement shall be allowed without the filing of an entry, but such entry shall be filed within thirty (30) days or the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution.

(c) Upon notification from the clerk that the case has defaulted, prevailing counsel shall submit an application for default judgment within fifteen (15) days or the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution.

(d) The journal entry shall allocate the court costs between or among the parties.

IV CASE MANAGEMENT IN SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS

1. PURPOSE: The purpose of this rule is to establish, pursuant to M.C. Sup. R 18, a case management system for special proceedings to achieve a prompt and fair disposition of these matters. The following civil matters are considered special proceedings and may be heard by a judge or acting judge, to wit: small claims, forcible entry and detainer, default hearings, rent escrow, replevin, motions to cite for contempt, garnishment hearings, debtor’s exams and B.M.V. hearings. The following criminal matters are considered special proceedings and may be heard by a judge or acting judge, to wit: preliminary hearings, extradition hearings and motions for temporary protection orders.

2. SCHEDULING OF EVENTS: Special proceedings that have time limits established by the Ohio Revised Code shall be set within those time limits for hearing. In all other special proceedings, the case shall be set for hearing within a reasonable time not to exceed ninety (90) days.

3. CLERICAL STEPS:

A. In all new special proceedings, if counsel fails to obtain service of summons within six (6) months, the clerk shall notify counsel that the case will be dismissed in ten (10) day unless good cause is shown to the contrary.

B. Upon perfection of service, the clerk shall notify counsel of said default and that a failure to submit an entry within fifteen (15) days may result in the case being dismissed.

C. After any responsive pleading is filed, the clerk shall immediately forward said pleading and file to the Judge so the matter may be set for a hearing.

D. If no action has been taken on a file for a six (6) month period and the case is not set for trial, the matter will be dismissed within one (1) week unless good cause is shown.

V JURY MANAGEMENT

1. SELECTION AND NOTICE: Jurors for the Court shall be drawn at the time and place corresponding to when jurors are drawn for the January, May and September terms of the Morrow County Court Common Pleas Court and in the manner provided by O.R.C. Chapter 2313. The number of Jurors selected shall be sufficient to insure that prospective jurors not be called to serve on a rotating basis more than every five (5) to six (6) weeks.

2. NOTFICATION: The Clerk shall notify each prospective juror of his or her being drawn for jury service an send each prospective juror shall be given a juror questionnaire form to be completed and returned to the Court within ten (10) days. All jurors shall be notified of jury service at least two (2) weeks prior to that service by postal card and each juror shall be provided a telephone number (Jury Hot Line) to call for a recorded message concerning the current status of that service. Each juror shall call that number after 5:00 p.m. on the day prior to his or her scheduled service. If a juror reports for service without calling the hot line number as instructed, no jury service fee will be paid.

3. EXCUSED ABSENCE: Excuse from jury duty shall be limited to the statutory exceptions unless extraordinary circumstances are found by the Judge or any of the following circumstances exist:

A. STUDENTS: A full time post high school student, who lives at or near the school he or she is attending, shall be excused from service unless he or she chooses to serve.

B. MEDICAL: A person may be excused for medical reasons if his or her request for excuse is accompanied by a physician’s statement describing the nature of the condition and the doctor’s opinion that the condition will interfere with or prevent jury service.

C. VACATION: A person may be excused for a scheduled vacation if his or her request for excuse is accompanied by documentation verifying same, i.e., travel or room reservations, etc.

D. PRIOR SERVICE DURING TERM: Once called and seated as a juror that juror may be excused from further call unless the number of Jury Trials necessitates recall.

E. MISCELLANEOUS: A juror may, upon reasonable request, be allowed to transfer his or her service to the next scheduled trial date.

4. ALTERNATE JURORS: Unless the trial is expected to exceed three (3) days only (1) alternative juror shall be selected.

5. JURY ACCOMMODATIONS: When a juror reports of service, the bailiff shall give him or her a juror badge and seat the prospective juror in the Courtroom to the exclusion of all persons except other jurors. The courtroom shall also serve as the jury deliberation room at the conclusion of the trial. All material except those needed for proper deliberation shall be removed from the Courtroom. The Court Reporter or Bailiff shall be stationed at the door of the courtroom to insure privacy and to alert the Court to any communication from the Jury.

VI COURT SECURITY

The Court Security Manual as adopted by the Courthouse Security Committee or those portions thereof pertinent to the operation of the Court shall be attached herto as Appendix B, but no circulated with copies of these rules.

VII EFFECTIVE DATE

These Rules will be in effect as of the 1st day of October, 2003.

                                                          Honorable Lee. W. McClelland

                                                            Judge, Morrow County Municipal Court

                                                            Date: October 1, 2003