Certain Ohio litigants have opted to bypass the judges they draw at the outset of their lawsuit in favor of private judges. More recently, litigants have sought to have private judges preside over jury trials. A statute (R.C. 2701.10) and judicial rule (Gov.Jud.R. VI) govern Ohio’s system of private judges. In Cuyahoga County, the administrative judge issued a policy entitled: “Court Policy Regarding Private Judging.” This policy permitted private judges to conduct jury trials, provided that the litigants satisfied certain procedural requirements.
While private judges can provide advantages such as certainty of trial dates and not having to be concerned with the demands of a criminal docket; some claim the system is unfair, creates an appearance of impropriety and uses county resources, placing a burden on an already stressed system.
On July 12, 2006, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a ruling in The State ex rel. Russo, Judge v. McDonnell, Judge declaring private judges lack authorization to conduct jury trials. The court did, however, conclude that courts are permitted, in their discretion, to allow private judges to use certain court resources in support of their private judging activities, provided the affected parties agree to pay for all costs associated with providing those resources.
