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Summit County - Local Rules of Court
Ohio Rules of Court
Courtroom Guidelines
First Pretrials
First pretrials are scheduled Monday through Friday at either 8:30 or 8:45. Counsel for parties and all unrepresented parties must appear. Counsel must either have their clients present or have the ability to reach their clients by telephone. Case Management Orders are typically issued after the first pretrial.
Samples of Documents
Unless the Court specifically indicates otherwise, all status conferences require the in-person appearance of counsel for represented parties and all unrepresented parties. Counsel must either have their clients present or have the ability to reach their clients by telephone.
Telephonic Status Conferences: Unless alternative arrangements are agreed upon in advance, plaintiff or plaintiffs counsel is responsible for initiating telephone status conferences. Once all parties are on the line, plaintiff shall contact the Court at (330) 643-5011.
*See the Courts Policy and Procedure for Requests for Continuances and Telephone Appearances.
Courtesy Copies Of Civil Filings
The Court requires all parties to submit courtesy copies of ALL briefs and motions directly to the Court. It is important to note that the Clerks Docket typically runs about two to three weeks behind the date of filing. Absent a courtesy copy, the Court is completely unaware that a motion or brief has been filed. Therefore, your submission of a courtesy copy is essential to the efficient resolution pending motions and the management of the Courts civil docket.
Courtesy copies shall be submitted one of the following ways:
Courtesy copies consisting of no more than ten (10) pages may be submitted via fax: (330) 643-2615
Requests For Continuances And Telephone Appearances
Continuances: The Court will grant continuances only upon good cause shown. Requests for continuances must be submitted to the Court in writing no later than seven (7) days prior to the date of the scheduled pretrial, conference, hearing or trial. Courtesy copies of Motions to Continue must be provided to the Court*.
Telephone Appearances: The Court prefers that all parties and counsel appear in person. However, under certain circumstances, such as an out-of-town attorney, unavoidable scheduling conflicts or illness, the Court will allow a party or counsel to appear telephonically. Requests to appear by telephone must be submitted no later than three (3) days prior to the scheduled pretrial, conference or hearing, and a courtesy copy of the motion must be provided to the Court*.
Please note: The Court does not consider Cleveland to be out-of-town for the purposes of attending pretrials and/or status conferences.
*Courtesy copies of both requests for continuances and telephone appearances shall be submitted to the court as follows:
Criminal Call Day
Judge McCarty's Criminal Call Day is held each Thursday at 1:00 p.m.
If you are party to a trial commencing earlier in the week, please contact the Court to determine whether your trial will proceed on Thursday morning, as the Judge may or may not be able to hear the case on the morning of Call Day.
Please contact the Bailiff, Joan Arshinkoff, with any questions, (330) 643-5013.
Preferences for Bench Trials
It is requested that the parties provide two (2) copies of exhibits to the Court for bench trials; one copy for the Judge and a copy for the Judicial Attorney. Depending on the complexity of the issues involved, the Judge may request that parties submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law after the trial.
Once a trial commences, the Judge will typically resume hearing the case each subsequent day until the trial is over. Please note, however, that the Judge may not be able to hear the case on Thursday mornings before her afternoon Criminal Call Day. Please contact the Court, or inquire at your final pretrial to determine whether your case will go forward on a Thursday morning.
Preferences for Jury Trials
Jury trials are scheduled on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. Once a trial commences, the Judge will typically resume hearing the case each subsequent day until the trial is over. Please note, however, that the Judge may not be able to hear the case on Thursday mornings before her afternoon Criminal Call Day. Please contact the Court, or inquire at your final pretrial to determine whether your case will go forward on a Thursday morning.
The Judge does not submit advance questionnaires to the jurors. However, at the beginning of voir dire the Judge does inquire of the jurors their basic information, including employment status and prior jury experience. As it is noted in the Case Management Order, parties must submit proposed jury instructions to the Court in advance via email to the Judicial Attorney, Lisa Nemes: lnemes@cpcourt.summitoh.net
Although Judge McCarty's Courtroom has limited technological capabilities, some arrangements can be made to have equipment brought in to the Courtroom. Please contact the Judicial Assistant, Shay Christopher (330) 643-5011, or the Bailiff, Joan Arshinkoff (330) 643-5013, to make arrangements.