How is the Supreme Court Like Basketball?

The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament pairings were announced this week. There will be excitement on the court as the games get under way. You might not know, but there is a way the Ohio Supreme Court is like a basketball court. We have our own version of a shot clock.

Every case argued before the seven justices has a time limit. Normally, each side has 15 minutes for oral argument, while in death penalty cases, the time limit is 30 minutes per side.

Watch the oral arguments on our website, www.sc.ohio.gov. You may notice that the appellant’s attorney asks to reserve a few minutes of argument time for rebuttal. That way, after the appellee’s attorney makes a critical point, he or she can respond adequately.  Sometimes, of course, questions by the justices eat up the time and the arguments are then over. Only the Chief Justice can extend the time.

Attorneys are told to keep track of time by watching a digital clock at their lectern. Although no buzzer sounds as it does when 35-seconds elapses on the basketball court, the attorneys who argue do receive a times-up notice:  the red light flashes on the lectern. They need to wrap up their thoughts quickly when that red light appears, and as the words over the courtroom doorway state in Latin—“While I speak, time flies.”

And so the legal contest of an appellate argument has at least one thing in common with sports—strict timing. Enjoy the March Madness on the basketball court, and may your team win!

2013 Ohio Mock Trial State Champions

Congratulations to Indian Hill High School students for winning the 30th Annual Ohio Mock Trial State Competition on March 9.

The school won the 2013 state championship round for the second year in a row and for the fourth time in five years. What an accomplishment for these students! Orange High School of Pepper Pike placed second in the event hosted by the Ohio Center for Law Related Education (OCLRE).

 

Mock Trial is a statewide educational program that simulates a court trial. High school students learn firsthand about law, court procedures, and the judicial system by competing against other teams in a real courtroom setting.

Since September, the students have worked alongside volunteer attorneys and judges to learn the ropes about their mock trial case titled, “State of Ohio vs. Dakota Allen.” Through this case the students analyzed an individual’s rights under the Fifth Amendment regarding improper confessions.

This is Indian Hill High School’s fourth state championship. The school also won in 2009 and 2010. Indian Hill will represent Ohio at the national level in May in Indianapolis.

You can watch the 2013 state championship round of Indian Hill High School verses Orange High School online.

 

Supreme Court Justices’ Athletic Feats Recounted on First Day of Arnold Sports Festival

The 25th Arnold Sports Festival kicks off today in Columbus. The festival will feature more than 18,000 athletes from 80 nations competing in 45 sports and events, including 12 Olympic sports.

Normally associated with bodybuilding, the festival’s other sports bring to mind the athletic feats of two former Justices on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Justice Francis Sweeney played professional football in the Canadian Football League for the Ottawa Rough Riders as a defensive tackle from 1956 to 1958. Justice Sweeney served on the Supreme Court from January 1993 to December 2004. Perhaps his most significant contribution while a member of the court was his majority opinion in DeRolph v. State (1997), the first school funding decision.

Justice Arthur H. Day set an unofficial world record in the 40-yard dash as a varsity sprinter at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1909. After his graduation from Ohio Wesleyan, he was appointed to the Cleveland Boxing Commission in 1914. Justice Day served on the court from January 1935 to December 1940.

 

Classroom Resources Available to Learn About Historic Case

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, a landmark case that recognized the responsibility of state courts to provide counsel for indigent defendants.

The U.S. Courts website has unveiled a series of courtroom-ready and classroom-ready activities to provide a teen-age perspective on the case, which was decided on March 18, 1963.

Students can read a summary about the case, reenact the story of Clarence Gideon, and put themselves in a similar situation through a realistic scenario where they might need a public defender.

The activities provide a great opportunity to learn about the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Enjoy!

Comparing Notes with a Judge from China

A few days ago Judge Caiyan Yan from China visited the Ohio Supreme Court. Judge Yan is a member of the Higher People’s Court in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province approximately 915 miles southwest of Beijing.

Judge Yan observed three oral arguments at the Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center on February 5. Two days later, I welcomed her in my chambers for an informal conversation about the similarities and differences in our judicial systems. She had many questions about what she observed here at the Supreme Court of Ohio and the other courts she had visited throughout her stay in the United States.

 



We talked for about an hour through the help of an interpreter. Both of us had questions for the other about what it was like to serve as a judge in our country.

Judge Yan has served on the Higher People’s Court since 2005, after she received her master’s degree in law from Wuhan University. Her primary judicial role is to review administrative law and procedural matters for the court.

Judge Yan was very interested in discussing dispute resolution because she oversees the resolution of disputes between bureaucracies. She said that in China, officials encourage judges to use mediation and other similar means to resolve civil disputes. I expressed my view: Mediation is successful when both parties leave the table equally unhappy with an agreement because that means they each had to compromise on strongly held positions.

Judge Yan also was interested in hearing about cases when public figures were involved. I stressed that officials here in the states do not receive special consideration: judges use the same rules for litigants whether they are rich or poor. We strive for equal justice under the law.

I enjoyed spending time with Judge Yan, having the opportunity to exchange ideas. Perhaps we will have the chance to meet again.  She, her husband, and their 8-year-old daughter will return to China at the end of the month.

High Schools to Try and Unseat Findlay in State Civics Competition

One week from today, Findlay High School will try to make it 12 titles in a row at the annual We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution competition. Findlay has represented the Buckeye State at the We the People National Finals for 11 consecutive years.

Nearly 150 students will participate in the January 25 event at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center, home to the Ohio Supreme Court, in Columbus. Besides Findlay, the competing schools are: Archbold, Bishop Hartley, Fostoria, Northmont, St. Henry, Van Wert, and West Carrollton.

Judges, attorneys, state legislators, college professors, and other community leaders from across Ohio will judge the competition by evaluating the students’ knowledge and understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and their importance, impact, and underpinnings.

We the People is a nationally acclaimed civic education program, helping students understand the history, philosophies, and evolution of our constitutional government. Upon completion of the classroom study, the students participate in a competition taking the form of simulated Congressional hearings.

Good luck to all involved!

The Judicial Oath of Office and New Justices

Did you know that a judge or justice is required to take an oath of office before they begin  to serve? The oath of office states:

“I, (name), do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Ohio, will administer justice without respect to persons, and will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all of the duties incumbent upon me as (name of office) according to the best of my ability and understanding.”

According to the Ohio Revised Code, justices of the Supreme Court take the oath of office before the first date of their official term.  Ohio judges from all other courts, on the other hand, may take the oath of office on the first date of their official term.  All judges and justices must to sign a judicial oath, which is then filed with the clerk of court.

But what you may not know is that there may be a separate ceremony before the public administration of a judge's oath. And the private ceremony may actually be the official occasion. For example, because a justice must be sworn in by a currently sitting justice, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor will administer the oath to William O'Neill on December 27 in Cleveland. Afterwards, former Justice Alice Resnick will swear him in before a public audience. And even though he takes the oath on that day, his six-year term of office does not begin until the clock strikes midnight on January 2, 2013.

 

In contrast, when a justice is appointed mid-term, as was former Justice Yvette McGee Brown, in 2010, her opponent, Sharon Kennedy, who won the general election, automatically became a justice as soon as the votes were certified.  Justice Kennedy’s term expires in two years and to receive a full term she would run again in 2014.  Justice Evelyn Stratton is retiring at the end of the year before her term expires, and so her successor, who will be named by the governor, must also run for a full six-year term in 2014.

And so, the Supreme Court of Ohio will begin 2013 with three new justices.