The Supreme Court Ohio Annual Report

Dear Citizens of Ohio:
March 2010
Alexander Hamilton once wrote that “the first duty of society is justice.” This
obligation is shared by all Ohio judicial system employees because the system
cannot thrive without the public’s trust and confidence in its integrity, fairness
and impartiality.
It is for that reason that my fellow Justices and I remain diligent in our
efforts to ensure the Ohio judicial system is both accessible and accountable
to the public it serves. In 2009, we focused efforts on amendments to the rules
governing Ohio courts, the administration of justice and the professionalism of
those who serve in our judicial system.
In January 2009, we adopted a rule standardizing the appointment,
responsibilities, training and reporting requirements of guardians ad litem,
ensuring that those who protect the interests of the most vulnerable among us
do so in a way that rises to the level of excellence.
To safeguard access to justice by all citizens, we adopted rule amendments
providing for the screening, testing and certification of bilingual court
interpreters. The certification requires that interpreters working in Ohio courts
meet minimum standards of fluency and comply with a code of professional
conduct.
We also clarified how lawyers in Ohio can communicate their fields of practice
to the public, restricting the use of the word “specialist” to those who have been
certified as such in specific fields by an approved organization. We narrowed,
too, the privileges for out-of-state attorneys who want to appear temporarily in a
proceeding before an Ohio court.
In 2009, the Supreme Court of Ohio also:
• Released a guide providing the public with practical information for
engaging in and managing an attorney-client relationship
• Mandated additional continuing education requirements for judges
related to access to justice
• Launched a refreshed Web site with increased ADA compliance, more
functional architecture, faster load times and expanded content.
It is true, as former U.S. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger once wrote, that
judges rule on the basis of law, not public opinion. But courts must be
responsive to the needs of the public, and we must strive always to improve
the administration of justice and support public confidence in the courts as a
cornerstone of our democracy. The 2009 Annual Report details our successes
and efforts this past year in meeting this obligation.
Thomas J. Moyer
Chief Justice