Lead Domestic Magistrate
As Lead Domestic Magistrate, I maintain a Domestic Relations docket and supervise our Domestic Relations Magistrates as well as the Child Support Enforcement Magistrates and the Civil Protection Order Magistrate.
Check in and timeliness
Please be on time and be prepared for your hearing. Upon arrival, always check in with the court officer located inside the courtroom. If you are not able to appear on time for the hearing, please contact all parties, counsel, the Guardian Ad Litem (if one is appointed), and the court, and provide a phone number where you can be reached. Failure to appear on time for your case may result in the case being continued, dismissed or proceeding without you.
Professionalism and civility
All parties and counsel shall exhibit appropriate courtroom decorum and shall be professional, courteous, and civil with one another, all attorneys, parties, witnesses, and all court personnel.
Continuances
Continuances may be granted for good cause and should be requested at the earliest opportunity prior to the scheduled hearing. If you are seeking a continuance, you must contact the opposing party or attorney and the guardian Ad Litem (if one is appointed) and request their approval.
Temporary orders hearings
All parties and counsel shall appear for temporary orders hearings and should plan to knowledgeably discuss settlement of all issues related to temporary orders. Only if settlement cannot be achieved will a date be selected for the matters to be submitted to the court to decide on the supplemental affidavits. If insufficient information is available to the other party or the court, the hearing may be continued for further discovery.
Rule 75 De Novo hearings
Rule 75N hearings typically are conducted on the resubmission of affidavits at a time scheduled with counsel, the parties and the Magistrate. Upon request, the Magistrate may, in addition or in lieu of resubmission of additional affidavits, consider an optional, short oral argument by each party or other means of rehearing temporary orders.
Children
Children are not permitted in the courtroom. Do not bring your children to court unless you are specifically instructed by the court to do so. It is a violation of law for anyone to obtain from a child a recorded statement (for example a letter, affidavit, recording, etc.) of the child’s wishes and concerns regarding the allocation of parental rights.
Case delinquencies
The Court follows the Ohio Supreme Court guidelines for timely disposition of cases. Please be mindful of this as your case progresses.
Settlement and mediation
Settlement is encouraged by the court. Mediation or Neutral Evaluation may be ordered by the court prior to having a hearing or a trial. Discussion of the issues with a trained mediator or with neutral evaluators often opens the lines of communication or assists parties with better understanding of the position/motivations of the other party or the likely outcome of what they are seeking and may lead to the or resolution of many or all issues. Mediation or Neutral Evaluation often saves parties significant time and money.
Trials
When your case is schedule for trial, you should be prepared to proceed. Discovery should be completed well in advance. Stipulations are encouraged. Case Management Orders also will be issued in most cases and must be followed.
Zoom policy
Hearings will only occur by zoom if they have been pre-planned as a zoom hearing. Any new request to convert an in-person hearing to a hearing by zoom shall be filed well in advance of the scheduled hearing date to allow the court time to review and respond to the request. The document you may use to request a hearing be converted to zoom can be found on the court’s website under Forms. All new requests shall include the reason you are requesting the hearing occur by zoom. The court may consider litigants who reside out of town, conflicts with other hearings and similar issues as potentially valid reasons for conducting a hearing by zoom. Trials are not heard by zoom.