Today, Karen Helmick arranged a tour of the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals and a meeting with the judges, located just down the street from the federal courthouse downtown. The students on the tour were Truth Foreman, Turner Booth, and me. Mrs. Helmick works at the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals as a staff attorney for Judge Pietrykowski. A staff attorney helps to draft opinions for the writing judge in these cases.
We got a tour of the one and only courtroom. Three judges (out of the five in the courthouse) are randomly selected by computer to sit on the bench at one time, and the decision is the majority of the three votes. For example, an appellant wins the appeal if either two or all of the three judges vote to overturn the decision of the lower court. Below is a picture of the courtroom.
Compared to the other courts I have been into, such as the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, this courthouse was very quiet. There were only two sets of footprints in the snow-covered sidewalk leading up to the entrance of the courthouse, one set those being Truth's.
After the tour of the courtroom and the staff attorneys' offices, we got to sit down with Judges Jensen, Pietrykowski, and Singer in the second floor conference room, where they were able to explain the appeals court better and take any questions that we had.
The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals hears appeals from the Sixth District of the Ohio Courts of Appeals. This includes eight counties along the Michigan border and Lake Erie. Either party involved in a trial from the state and county courts (common pleas and municipal courts) has the automatic right to appeal outcomes to the court of appeals, and most do. In doing so, the appellant will allow the judge to read over the case, or they may request for oral arguments. An oral argument is when the defense takes their case to the courtroom in front of the three judges. The appellant will have fifteen minutes to present their case, and the respondent will have fifteen minutes to present their case. The appellant can designate a portion of their fifteen minutes for a rebuttal after the respondent. When they present their cases, the judges will interrupt both parties and ask them questions. After the oral argument, judges will write their opinions and return with a decision on whether or not the conviction will be overturned.
I also learned that only one percent of the cases that are appealed go to the Supreme Court of Ohio. This means that for most individuals, this court is their only option for recourse.
During our meeting in the conference room, the phone rang. The judges said that phone has never rung before, but Judge Singer picked it up anyways. It was a wrong number. This prompted the judges to tell us joke about appeals courts, since they are so quiet: "Whenever the phone rings, it's either your spouse or a wrong number."
But on a more serious note, I now realize how important the appeals system is. The court of appeals reviews all of the lower courts' work and keeps them "in check." I think that the automatic right to appeal is an important right for defendants to have, because although most people have the best intentions, not all trials are done properly. Perhaps it's because a judge overrules an objection that shouldn't have been. Maybe the reason is because the jury wasn't unbiased. It could even be because of a different interpretation of a newly created law. This is where complaints like these are heard, and is a critical part of the Ohio legal system if it wants to maintain accountability and guarantee fairness for convicted defendants.
I wonder why, if the court is so quiet, 5 justices are required? Why not just have the 3 that sit on any particular case? What are the other 2 justices doing when they aren't hearing a case? How many cases does this court hear in a day? a week?
ReplyDeleteThe number of judges each Ohio Court of Appeals has is determined by the population of the district. The sixth district covers eight counties and has a population large enough that it has more than the minimum of three judges. By contrast, the eighth district covers only Cuyahoga County, and has twelve judges (three of whom are named Judge Gallagher).
ReplyDeleteThe court hears oral arguments in the courtroom. An appellant can submit a case for review or ask for an oral argument. If an appellant submits a case for review and doesn't ask for an oral argument, the judges will read transcripts of the trial. Although the court has no oral arguments this month (January 2015), there will usually be some oral arguments from time to time. Most of the work takes place outside of the courtroom.