Ohio Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, Apr. 18, 1939 -- Apr. 2, 2010

Born in Sandusky, Ohio on April18, 1939, Thomas J. Moyer was the longest-serving current state chief justice in the United States. He passed away suddenly last Friday, April 2, 2010 at the age of 70, leaving wife Mary. (Articles here and here)

The Columbus Dispatch, Friday, reported that Justice Moyer was set to retire at the end of the year after hitting the mandatory age of retirement set by Ohio’s constitution. He was the third longest serving chief justice in Ohio history, behind Justices Edward S. Matthias in 1915 and Carl Weygandt in 1933, who served 38 and 30 years, respectively.

Moyer presided over several matters of some importance on the Supreme Court over the years, including the DeRolph decision in 2002, dealing with school funding, and the late-nineties Sheward fight over tort reform.

Among other accomplishments, the Supreme Court under Justice Moyer’s leadership:

• In 2002, revamped the rules governing the reporting of opinions in Ohio (Rules for the Reporting of Opinions: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/LegalResources/Rules/reporting/Report.pdf ) to standardize the publication of opinions from the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals to increase public access and availability written opinions.


• In March 2004, began broadcasting live all Supreme Court Oral Arguments on cable TV and on the Internet (http://www.supremecourtofohio.gov/videostream). The cable signal reaches more than 5 million homes across Ohio (signal availability is at www.OhioChannel.org). Ohio's courts are among only a small number of courts in the United States that broadcast all arguments live. All cases are also archived on the Internet.


• In 2005, put the Court's entire docket online (http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/2005/SOJ_091505.asp ), allowing anyone anytime to check the status of a case, learn about new filings, and locate counsel information.


• In 2006, began closed-captioning all oral arguments to facilitate access by deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens and enable public access to unofficial transcripts of all proceedings in a searchable database. Ohio is one of only two state courts in the country with this service. (http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/2006/closedcap_011906.asp )


• Last year the Court addressed “open discovery” in Ohio courts approving new rules governing pretrial procedures, amending Rule 16 of Ohio’s Rules of Criminal Procedure so as to require greater sharing of evidence between prosecutors and defense attorneys before trial. (http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/2010/ruleAmend_011510.asp )

Supreme Court’s mentions here and here