Sept. 17, 2009
Chief Justice's Speech Highlights Innovative Practices, Budgetary Challenges
Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer delivered his annual State of the Judiciary address before the Ohio Judicial Conference today. He spoke of the innovative ways Ohio judges are improving the administration of justice in Ohio and the ways courts across the state are meeting the demands of an economic recession.
Chief Justice Moyer made the remarks in Dublin at the 2009 annual meeting of the Ohio Judicial Conference, which traditionally includes the State of the Judiciary speech.
He pointed to many individual judges’ work to support the annual meeting’s theme of “Judicial Reasoning and Philosophy: Making Good Judicial Decisions.” He noted that judicial decision-making involves more than just the knowledge of the law to include complex judicial reasoning, effective case management, and using authority to alleviate challenges unique to a discrete population.
These judges “demonstrate the reasoning, the philosophy of making judicial decisions that uphold our laws and constitutions while ensuring that the judiciary is fair, efficient and accessible,” Chief Justice Moyer said. “The body of work accumulated in the 3 million cases decided each year in Ohio tells us that the path to our decisions is more than the accumulated books of laws, codes and procedures – more than simply our keen observations of the facts and merits of the case.”
A portion of his remarks was also devoted to examples of courts doing more with less yet still keeping the door to justice open. From using video conferencing to save on prisoner transportation costs to merging offices to eliminating staff members, the Chief Justice applauded judges’ efforts to reduce their budgets in strapped financial times.
“Our skills have been summoned as the state, counties and cities confront declining revenues which eventually find their way to budget reductions for courts across the state,” he said. “Budgeting seems to require an inordinate amount of our attention in these difficult times but a number of courts have charted new courses to navigate budgetary shoals.”
The Chief Justice also shared accomplishments of the judiciary from the past year and upcoming initiatives, including:
- Free training sessions hosted by the Supreme Court either via the Web or through individual visits to local courts that eliminate travel to Columbus.
- A second Ohio Summit on Children in November to chart the progress of county teams working to address the needs of children and families who come before the courts.
- The formation of the Advisory Committee on Specialized Dockets to advance the success of Ohio’s 129 specialized dockets and provide additional guidance on these issues to the Supreme Court.
The Ohio Judicial Conference is an organization through which Ohio’s 726 judges work together to improve the administration of justice. The annual meeting brings together judges from across the state for judicial education and discussions about issues of common concern.
The text of Chief Justice Moyer’s speech is available online at: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/Speeches/2009/SOJ_091709.asp.
For a high resolution, publication-quality photo of Chief Justice Moyer, please visit: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/images/justices/moyer_highres.zip.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.