Ohio Supreme Court amendments to the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the Ohio Rules of Evidence became effective July 1, 2021.  The amendments were submitted to the Court by the Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure in keeping with its annual review.  Here are highlights of these changes.

The Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, RULE 37 (E), now titled “Failure to preserve electronically stored information.” is amended to match the federal rule.  The Ohio rule now allows inquiry into the culpability of the party which destroyed the material and then allows the trial court to provide an appropriate remedy.

The Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure are amended at RULE 11 – Pleas, Rights Upon Plea and RULE 41 – Search and Seizure to make clear that plea hearings and applications for search warrants can be conducted remotely.  These changes result from the COVID-19 pandemic and resolve the uncertainty over whether these hearings and search warrant applications could be conducted by video or other electronic means.

In an amendment not effective until September 1, 2021, the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure, RULE 21 – Oral Argument, is amended to provide that the court shall make an audio or video recording of all oral arguments.  The September 1 effective date is to allow the courts time to prepare.

If you have questions about this topic or any other loss prevention topic, please feel free to contact us at OBLIC.

Gretchen Mote, Esq.
Director of Loss Prevention