Lawrence County Municipal Court, Ohio Document Filing Requirements

Applies to

Entry of change of trial counsel

After designation, trial counsel remains in that role until the case ends unless an entry designating new trial counsel and showing prior counsel’s agreement is filed.

Once trial counsel has been designated, such designation shall remain until termination of the case. Change of trial counsel will be permitted upon the filing of an entry containing the designation of new trial counsel and the agreement of prior trial counsel.

Applies to

Pleading

Attorneys must identify themselves as trial counsel and provide the specified contact information on all pleadings in civil and criminal cases; a law firm may not be named as trial attorney.

Attorneys shall designate their capacity as trial counsel on all pleadings in civil and criminal cases and shall include their office address, zip code, email address, telephone and fax numbers. A law firm is not to be named as trial attorney.

Applies to

Jury demand

Criminal jury demands must be in writing in accordance with the criminal rules and timely filed.

All jury demands will be in writing in accordance with the criminal rules and timely filed.

Applies to

Motion

Motions must be timely presented and filed in writing with sufficient memoranda stating their grounds and factual and legal basis.

All motion must be presented and filed within rule, in writing, accompanied by sufficient memoranda stating the grounds and factual and legal basis.

Applies to

Separately filed exhibit

Must include

caption, case number

A separately filed missing exhibit must have a cover sheet stating the court name, case title, case number, and exhibit title, and must be signed and served under the rules for pleadings.

Any exhibit filed in this manner shall be attached to a cover sheet containing the caption of the case which sets forth the name of the court, title of the case, the case number, and the title of the exhibit being filed, and shall be signed and served in the conformance with the rules governing the signing and service of pleadings in this Court.

Applies to

Fax filed signed document

A party who fax-files a signed document represents that the physically signed source document is in their possession or control.

A party who files a signed document by fax represents that the physically signed source document is in his/her possession or control.

Applies to

Proposed jury instructions

Proposed jury instructions must be submitted to the Court by the conclusion of the evidence.

Proposed jury instructions are to be submitted to the Court by the conclusion of the evidence.

Applies to

Pretrial motion

A case cited without an official-report citation or an alternate location where it can be found must be attached to the pretrial motion.

Cases cited not having such references must be attached to the motion.

Applies to

Fax filing source material

A fax filer need not submit the source document to the Clerk, but must retain and produce it on request, along with the source cover sheet, until the case is closed and post-judgment relief opportunities are exhausted.

The person making a fax filing need not file any source document with the Clerk of Court but must, however, maintain in his/her records and have available for production on request by the Court the source document filed by fax, with original signatures as otherwise required under the applicable rules, together with the source copy of the facsimile cover sheet used for the subject filing. The source document filed by fax shall be maintained by the person making the filing until the case is closed and all opportunities for post judgment relief are exhausted.

Applies to

Fax filed signed document

A party fax-filing a signed source document must fax either the signed document or an unsigned copy marked “/s/” followed by the signer's name where the signature belongs.

A party who wishes to file a signed source document by fax shall either fax a copy of the signed source document or fax a copy of the document without the signature but the notion “/s/” followed by the name of the signing person where the signature appears in the signed source document.

Applies to

Pleadings

A sole proprietor who is a small-claims party must sign all pleadings and appear at all hearings, or may retain an attorney to represent them.

If a party to a small claims matter is sole proprietor (owner), the owner must sign all pleadings and appear at all hearings. Alternatively, the owner may retain an attorney to represent him/her.

Applies to

Opposition

Opposing counsel must respond in writing and include a written memorandum containing citations or arguments.

Opposing counsel shall answer in like manner.

Applies to

Dog warden citation

The dog warden is to write the payment amount on the citation at the time he serves a copy upon the defendant and it shall be written upon the original citation filed with the Clerk of Court.

The dog warden is to write the payment amount on the citation at the time he serves a copy upon the defendant and it shall be written upon the original citation filed with the Clerk of Court.

Applies to

Pretrial motion

Pretrial motion issues must be stated specifically enough to identify the witnesses and evidence needed at the evidentiary hearing.

Issues shall be identified with sufficient specificity to advise of the appropriate witnesses and evidence necessary to be present at the evidentiary hearing.

Applies to

Pleadings

Small-claims pleadings must identify each plaintiff and defendant according to the party’s entity type and include the specified names and addresses.

In all pleadings, the Plaintiff and Defendant must be identified as follows: 1. If an individual, by listing his/her name and address. 2. If a sole proprietorship, by identifying it as such. The business address must also be listed. 3. If a partnership, by identifying it as such, either general or limited, and by naming the partners. The business address must also be listed. 4. If a limited liability company, by identifying it as such and by listing the exact name on file with the Office of the Secretary of State. The business address must also be listed. 5. If a corporation, by identifying it as such and listing the exact corporate name on file with the Office of the Secretary of State. The business address must also be listed.

Applies to

Traffic record

The arresting agency must provide the Court with a LEADS or other official traffic record for each traffic offender before the offender’s initial appearance.

The arresting law enforcement agency shall be responsible for providing the Court a LEADS or other official record of each traffic offender’s traffic record prior to the offender’s initial appearance in Court.

Applies to

Pretrial motion

Criminal pretrial motions must be timely filed in writing, state the factual and legal issues, and be served on all counsel.

All pretrial motions shall be timely filed and in writing which states the factual and legal issues for said motion and served on all counsel.

Applies to

Pleadings

For a partnership that is a small-claims party, one partner must sign the pleadings and appear at all hearings, or the partnership may retain an attorney.

If a party to a small claims matter is a partnership, one of the partners must sign the pleadings and must appear at all hearings. Alternatively, an attorney may be retained by the partnership to represent it.

Applies to

Motion

Each motion must be written and accompanied by a written memorandum containing counsel’s citations or arguments.

All motions must be in writing and accompanied by a written memorandum containing citations or arguments of counsel.

Applies to

Journal entry

A journal entry must state which party will pay court costs and that the order is final and appealable.

The journal entry shall state which party will pay the court costs and that it is a final appealable order.

Applies to

Fax filing

If an exhibit cannot be accurately faxed, the filer must include an insert page describing the exhibit and why it is missing.

Each exhibit to a facsimile produced document that cannot be accurately transmitted via facsimile transmission for any reason must be replaced by an insert page describing the exhibit and why it is missing.

Applies to

Trial counsel withdrawal application

Must include

certificate of service

Trial counsel may withdraw only with the Court’s consent, and the application must be a written entry or motion stating the reasons and containing a certification of service to opposing counsel and the party.

Counsel shall be permitted to withdraw from the trial counsel responsibility only with the consent of the Court. No such application will be considered unless a written entry or motion is presented stating the reasons for the application and contain certification of service to opposing counsel and the party.

Applies to

Pleadings

An individual small-claims party must sign all pleadings and appear at all hearings, or may retain an attorney to represent them.

If an individual is a party to a small claims matter, he/she must sign all pleadings and appear at all hearings. Alternatively, he/she may retain an attorney to represent him/her.