Adopted To:
- THE OHIO RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE
- THE OHIO RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
- THE OHIO RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
- THE OHIO RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE
The Ohio Supreme Court adopted amendments, effective July 1, 2014, to Rules 4, 9, 10, 11, and 43 of the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rules 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 7, 33, 36, 45, 75, and 86 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 5, 41, and 59 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Rules 40 and 47 of the Ohio Rules of Juvenile Procedure. (Note: Appellate Rule 43, Civil Rule 86, Criminal Rule 59 and Juvenile Rule 47 address Effective Dates.)
The Court provided the following summary of the amendments. You may access the full text of the amendments, with the Staff Notes, on the Ohio Supreme Court website www.sconet.state.oh.us.
Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure
App.R. 4
The amendments clarify when the time to appeal begins to run when the trial court enters an order that is not final when entered but becomes final as a result of merging into a subsequently entered final order or because of the dismissal of the action. The amendments also clarify that a timely and appropriate motion for attorney fees or prejudgment interest suspends the time for appeal. This will avoid the procedural and jurisdictional uncertainty that results when a party files an appeal during the time period between when the trial court enters judgment and the filing of a motion for attorney’s fees or prejudgment interest. Under the amendments, the appellate court has the authority to remand the matter for a ruling on the post-judgment motion, rather than dismissing the appeal.
App.R. 9, App.R. 10, and App.R. 11
The amendments clarify that the appellant’s duty is to make reasonable arrangements for the transcription of recorded proceedings and that the appellant should not be penalized for failing to produce a timely transcript if the deficiency is outside the appellant’s control.
Similar to the amendments to App.R. 9, the amendments to App.R. 10 clarify that the appellant’s duty is to make reasonable arrangements for the timely transmission of the record and that the appellant should not be penalized for any failure in transmitting the record if the deficiency is outside the appellant’s control.
Finally, the amendments to App.R. 11(C) reflect that the appellee can file a motion to dismiss the appeal if the appellant fails to make reasonable arrangements to transmit the record instead of penalizing the appellant for failure to timely transmit the record when such an action is outside the appellant’s control.
Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure
Civ.R. 4.3 and Civ.R. 4.5
Both Civ.R. 4.3 and Civ.R. 4.5 relating to service of summons outside the state and in a foreign country are amended to make their provisions consistent with the provisions of Civ.R. 4.1(B) relating to service of summons within the state as to the method of personal service which requires the person serving process to locate and tender a copy of the process to the person to be served and as to the provisions that a failure to make service within twenty-eight days and failure to make proof of service do not affect the validity of service.
Civ.R. 4.6
The caption for Civ.R. 4.6 is amended to clarify that the rule applies to all refusals to accept service.
Civ.R. 7
Consistent with the 2007 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the amendments delete Civ.R. 7(C) which states that demurrers are abolished as demurrers are unknown in Ohio modern practice after the adoption of Civ.R. 12(B)(6).
Civ.R. 33 and Civ.R. 36
The Court has adopted clean-up amendments to both Civ.R 33 and Civ.R. 36. Prior amendments adopted by the Court intended that interrogatories and requests for admission be served by electronic means making a printed copy unnecessary and that therefore the time for responding should no longer run from service of a printed copy.
Civ.R. 45
The proposed amendments to Civ.R. 45 account for the 2008 renumbering of Civ.R. 26(B).
Civ.R. 75
The amendments are based on a recommendation of the Ohio State Bar Association to grant the court discretion to join persons or agencies claiming to have an interest in or rights with respect to a child, such as being designated as legal custodians or as persons entitled to visitation or companionship time.
Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure
Crim.R. 5
The amendments to Crim.R. 5 establish a general rule in favor of binding over misdemeanors, except for minor misdemeanors, committed with felonies as a part of the same criminal episode.
Crim.R. 41
Amendments to Crim.R. 41 address the issuance and execution of a tracking device search warrant. A law-enforcement officer to whom a search warrant is issued is given “three days” to complete a search with no differentiation made between a search warrant for property and a search warrant that tracks the movement of a person or property. The ability to install the tracking device within the three day time period in the rule was difficult if no opportunities arose for law enforcement to safely and secretly install the device.
The amendments specify requirements for the issuance and execution of a tracking device search warrant, giving law enforcement greater flexibility while protecting the rights of the individual who is the subject of the search.
Ohio Rules of Juvenile Procedure
Juv.R. 40
While reviewing the procedures for magistrates to conduct civil jury trials under Civ.R. 53, the Commission considered Juv.R. 40 regarding magistrates in juvenile courts. It was determined that jury trials in juvenile court are extremely rare and occur only in cases of “serious youthful offenders” and cases of adult defendants charged with child endangering and/or contributing to the delinquency of minors. The rule, prior to amendment, excluded magistrates from conducting jury trials for “serious youthful offenders”. In addition, all trials of adult offenders are governed by the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, which expressly exclude magistrates from hearing jury trials; therefore, the amendments eliminate the provision for jury trials under Juv.R. 40.
