2018 ANNUAL REPORT T S C of O ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Maureen O’Connor Chief Justice Terrence O’Donnell Sharon L. Kennedy Judith L. French Patrick F. Fischer R. Patrick DeWine William M. O’Neill (January 1 to January 26) Mary DeGenaro (January 28 to December 31) Justices Stephanie E. Hess Interim Administrative Director DEAR Change was prevalent in the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2018. We experienced change at the beginning of the year with the departure of one justice and the arrival of another and change at the end of the year, as we bid farewell to two justices and prepared for the arrival of two newly elected justices. Despite the changes, the excellent work of our staff continued in every facet of the Court. We continued educating thousands of Ohioans through our adult guardian and guardian ad litem education programs. And we continued expanding our training opportunities and subject matter to the judges, court personnel, and members of justice-related organizations in Ohio. Seminars, conferences, webinars, and roundtables were aplenty, on numerous well-timed and important topics. We also concentrated our efforts on clarifying and informing the judiciary and public alike on the timely topics of bail and bonds, court record sealing, and grand juries. The Court salutes the hundreds of volunteers who dedicated their time and expertise to the operation and improvement not only of our Court, but of the hundreds of courts throughout the state in 2018. We simply could not operate efficiently or provide the timely direction and level of service to the courts of Ohio without the visiting appellate judges who hear Supreme Court cases on assignment, or the hundreds of professionals who serve on the Court’s boards, commissions, advisory committees, and task forces. We owe them our gratitude. Finally, it is appropriate that we honor our former colleague, Justice Terrence O’Donnell, in this document. After 15 years on the Court, Justice O’Donnell retired at the end of 2018. We celebrate his service in the following pages. I’m pleased to present this annual report and hope you read on to understand the array of issues we address each day. God Bless, Maureen O’Connor Chief Justice TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 2 9 10 SUPREME COURT SUPREME COURT RULE CHANGES A DEDICATED JURIST OF OHIO DECISIONS 12 13 14 16 DEGENARO’S DREAM BUENGER TAKES COURT CONFERENCES FREE TRAINING COMES TRUE POSITION AT ADDRESS TIMELY OFFERED FOR COURT NATIONAL COURT ISSUES HESS NAMED INTERIM INTERPRETERS ORGANIZATION ADMINISTRATIVE NEW VIDEO SHEDS DIRECTOR RETIRING SUPREME LIGHT ON GRAND JURY COURT EMPLOYEES PROCESS CHIEF JUSTICE & JUSTICES The Supreme Court of Ohio BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION Richard A. Dove Stephanie E. Hess, Director Interim Administrative Director CRIMINAL OFFICE OF SENTENCING • Office of the Administrative Director DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION COUNSEL • Office of the Chief Legal Counsel Scott Drexel Sara Andrews Disciplinary Counsel Director • Office of Court Security • Office of Fiscal Resources LAWYERS' FUND • Office of Human Resources FOR CLIENT PROTECTION • Office of Public Information Janet Green Marbley Administrator • Civic Education Section • Law Library ATTORNEY SERVICES CLERK'S LEGAL RESOURCES DIVISION DIVISION DIVISION Gina White Palmer, Director Sandra H. Grosko, Clerk Elisabeth Long, Director • Office of Attorney Services • Office of the Clerk • Office of Legal Resources • Office of Bar Admissions • Office of the Reporter INFORMATION JUDICIAL & EDUCATION COURT SERVICES TECHNOLOGY DIVISION SERVICES DIVISION DIVISION Robert D. Stuart, Director W. Milt Nuzum, Director Stephanie Nelson, Director • Office of Information Technology • Office of Judicial Services • Office of Court Services • Application Development • Judicial College • Case Management Section • Children & Families • Network & Technology • Dispute Resolution Resources Section • Language Services 17 18 20 24 • Specialized Dockets FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DIVISION Jerry Williams, Director COURT GRANTS STAFF NOTES 2018 YEAR IN REVIEW ADMINISTRATIVE• Office of Facilities Management SUPPORT OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 26 30 32 36 CASE STATISTICS JUDICIARY/SUPREME BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, VISITING JUDGES COURT OPERATING ADVISORY COMMITTEES, EXPENDITURES AND TASK FORCES SUPREME COURT OF OHIO STANDING, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Justice R. Patrick DeWine, Justice Judith L. French, Justice Patrick F. Fischer, and Justice Mary DeGenaro. SEATED, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Justice Terrence O’Donnell, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, and Justice Sharon L. Kennedy. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor Justice Patrick F. Fischer Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the first woman Justice Patrick F. Fischer began a full term on the and 10th chief justice in Ohio history. She was re- Supreme Court on Jan. 1, 2017, following his election elected as head of Ohio’s judiciary in 2016. Since in November 2016. He previously was elected to becoming chief justice in 2011, she has led significant Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals in 2010, and was reforms and improvements in the Ohio judicial re-elected in 2012. He served as president of the Ohio system, including improving access to justice by State Bar Association from 2012 to 2013, and served advocating for reasonable court fines, fees, and bail on the OSBA’s board of governors. practices, especially for economically disadvantaged communities. She also leads efforts of an eight-state initiative to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. She Justice R. Patrick DeWine is past president of the Conference of Chief Justices Justice R. Patrick DeWine began a full term on the and former chair of the National Center for State Supreme Court on Jan. 2, 2017, following his election Courts Board of Directors. Chief Justice O’Connor in November 2016. Before joining the Supreme joined the Supreme Court in January 2003. Court, Justice DeWine served on the First District Court of Appeals and served on the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. He began his legal career as a Justice Terrence O’Donnell law clerk for the Honorable David A. Nelson on the Upon joining the Ohio Supreme Court in 2003, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also served Justice Terrence O’Donnell led statewide efforts in local government, as a member of the Hamilton to increase professionalism among lawyers and County Board of Commissioners and the Cincinnati judges. He previously served on the common pleas City Council. and appellate benches and served as chairman of the Ohio Legal Rights Service Commission, which oversees the protection and advocacy of the Justice Mary DeGenaro developmentally disabled and mentally ill statewide. Mary DeGenaro became a justice on the Supreme Justice O’Donnell’s tenure on the Court ended Court by gubernatorial appointment on Jan. 28, 2018. Dec. 31, 2018. She previously served nearly 17 years as a judge on the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Youngstown. She serves as vice president of the Ohio Women’s Justice Sharon L. Kennedy Bar Association and, in 2005, served as a founding A former Butler County Domestic Relations Court member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Appellate judge, Justice Sharon L. Kennedy won election to an Practice Specialty Certification Board. Justice unexpired term on the Supreme Court in November DeGenaro’s time on the Court ended Jan. 1, 2019. 2012, and was elected to a full term in November 2014. She served on the bench in Butler County from 1999 to 2012, where, as administrative judge, she Justice William M. O’Neill improved its case management system to ensure the Justice William M. O’Neill joined the Supreme Court timely resolution of cases for families and children. on Jan. 2, 2013. Prior to becoming a justice, Justice Before becoming a judge, she was special counsel to O’Neill served on the Eleventh District Court of the attorney general and a part-time magistrate. She Appeals from 1997 until 2007. He also is a registered began her career as a police officer. nurse and served at Hillcrest Hospital, an affiliate of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. A former U.S. Army officer and Vietnam veteran, Justice O’Neill Justice Judith L. French was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame Former appellate judge Judith L. French won in 2007. Justice O’Neill left the Supreme Court in election to a full Supreme Court term in November January 2018. (Not pictured.) 2014. Before serving as an appellate judge, she was chief legal counsel to Gov. Bob Taft, as well as an assistant attorney general and then chief counsel to the attorney general. She argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court, including on behalf of the state in the Cleveland school-vouchers case. She took office on the Supreme Court in January 2013, after a gubernatorial appointment. 1 SUPREME COURT DECISIONS The Supreme Court issued many opinions in 2018, some dealing with highly anticipated legal issues. The following is a sampling of rulings that drew public interest last year. 2 STATEWIDE ISSUES Court Cannot Have Policy of Refusing to Accept No-Contest Pleas A court cannot have a blanket policy of refusing to accept no-contest pleas, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in January. “A trial court abuses its discretion when it rejects a no-contest plea as a matter of course without considering the facts and circumstances of the case,” Justice French wrote in the Court’s opinion. After being indicted for cocaine The ruling vacated a judgment City Not Liable for Accident Caused by Shrubs Blocking possession in Hamilton County, awarded by the Mahoning County View of Stop Sign Andrea Beasley attempted to plead Common Pleas Court to Christine no contest. Because the court had a Lucarell, a former agent of the A city is not liable for the failure policy of rejecting no-contest pleas in Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., to remove roadside foliage that all circumstances, Beasley pled guilty who sued her former company. obstructs a traveler’s view of a state- and was sentenced to three years of The majority opinion held that: mandated traffic-control device community control.