Research FAQ's: Basic Ohio Legal Materials

BILLS/PENDING LEGISLATION

Current Status:

• Ohio General Assembly Online: 1997 to current.

• Ohio Capitol Connection: Staff use only.

• Lexis+: OHIO Library; OHTRCK file.

• Ohio Legislative Information Hotline: 1-800-282-0253

Old Bills, Not Enacted:

• Ohio General Assembly Online: 1997 to current.

• Ohio Capitol Connection: Staff use only. 1989 - current.

Enacted Laws:

• Ohio General Assembly Online: 1997 to current.

• Ohio Capitol Connection: Staff use only. 1989 - current.

• Laws of Ohio: KFO25 .A3 - State published (Official) session laws - Vol. 1 (1803) - 151 (2006) as of 2007 no longer being published in print.

• Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service (print): KFO15. B34 - Published monthly. 1974 - 2015.

• Westlaw: OH-LEGIS and OH-LEGIS-OLD file. 1988 to current.

• Page's Ohio Revised Code Bulletin (print): KFO30 1953 P3 - Published monthly. 1988 - current.

• Ohio Advanced Legislative Service: Lexis+ OHALS file. 1991 to current session.

• Ohio Legislative Service Commission Summary of Enactments (print): KFO15. L43 - 1959 through 1994 - Digest of Enactments online at LSC website 1997-2014.

Legislative History:

Overview:

• Ohio Legal Research Guide, by Melanie K. Putnam and Susan M. Schaefgen (KFO75 .P88 1996).

• Ohio Legal Research, by Katherine L. Hall and Sara Sampson (KFO75 .H357 2008).

• A Guide to Legislative History in Ohio, Prepared by Mike Franczak, Eric Vendel, Michael Griffaton. Columbus, Ohio : Legislative Service Commission, [2010].

Pages or Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code:

• Following the text of the statute, there may be reprints of committee comments or other language indicating intent.

Debates and Hearings:

• Not officially recorded. Video recordings of floor debates/sessions going back to 07/05/1996 available at: The Ohio Channel.

Testimony and Commitee Reports:

• Ohio Capitol Connection (118th GA/1989-90 forward); also includes reporters' notes of Committee activity. Notes of hearings taken by Legislative Service Commission staff may include some testimony, and is available at the Legislative Service Commission library. Committee notebooks available at the House and Senate clerk's office for the past 2 sessions. Older committee notebooks at the Ohio History Connection.

Bills: (besides the text of the changes, additions or deletions to the revised code sections, the bill may contain other language indicating intent)

• The Legislative Service Commission : (1997 and later).

• Ohio Capitol Connection (1989 and later).

House and Senate Journals:

• Contain only procedural accounts of the legislative activity of chamber, with voting records. The library has print copies of House Journals for the years 1947 and 1961-2004, KFO18 .O31X, and Senate Journals for the years 1967 and 1971-2004, KFO18 .O32X. The current session's journals are available at Ohio General Assembly Legislative Session Journals Page. Prior House Journals from the 125th GA forward and Senate Journals from the 126th GA forward are available at the Ohio General Assembly Archives.

Ohio Legislative Service Commission Analysis:

• Ohio Legislative Service Commission: 1997 to present.

• Ohio Capitol Connection: Staff use only. 1989 - current. Also contains Fiscal Notes.

• Microfilm: 1961 - present.

• Summary of Enactments (print): KFO15 .L43 - 1959 through 1994.

General Assembly Commitee Files:

• At the Ohio History Connection in Columbus, Ohio. Contains transcripts of hearings, reports, voting records, copies of bills and reference materials.

Materials Directly from the Legislature:

• Contacting the sponsor of the bill or committee chairman, who may have more information or documents.

Law Review Articles and Treatises:

• May contain a discussion of why a piece of legislation was enacted.

Bar Asssociation Reports:

• Available from Ohio State Bar Association or Ohio State University Moritz Library.

Quick Fix:

• Find the code section in Page's or Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code.

• Look at the History references following the statute.

• Look up each reference in the Laws of Ohio to see what changes were made.

OHIO REVISED CODE

Print Sources:

• Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated, updated by the Ohio Legislative Service.

• Page's Ohio Revised Code, updated by monthly Bulletins.

Electronic Sources:

• Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated on Westlaw as OH-ST-ANN or OH-ST. Historical Annotated Statutes available for 1993 onward, see for example OH-STANN04.

• Page's Ohio Revised Code on Lexis+ in the Ohio Library as CODE.

• Internet Sources: Ohio Revised Code (unannotated) is available on the LAWriter® website.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS

• Recent ones are on the Ohio Governor's webpage. Ohio Capitol Connection maintains a file of executive orders from 1983 and later. Ohio Capitol Connection intends to make these available on its online database sometime in the near future. Older executive orders can be obtained at the Ohio History Connection, or possibly the Governor's Office. The Cleveland Law Library has a few older executive orders on file.

OHIO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE

• Regulations promulgated by state agencies are published in Baldwin's Ohio Administrative Code which is updated by the Ohio Monthly Record. For updates beyond the latest edition of Ohio Monthly Record, and for proposed rule changes, see Register of Ohio and Joint Commission on Agency Rule Review. The Register of Ohio has information about the administrative rule making process. Especially see the guide to Abbreviations and Definitions.

• Note: Occasionally you will encounter regulations "adopted by reference." This means you will not find the full text of these regulations within the code. This is especially true in the building code, but the Ohio Building Code sometimes contains the full text of these regulations. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission can provide the text of the regulations adopted by reference.

• The Ohio Administrative Code is available on the LAWriter® website."An Overview of Administrative Rule-Making": A "Members Only Brief" prepared by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

• Proposed regulations can be tracked on the Ohio Legislative Service Commission's Register of Ohio They can also be tracked on Lexis (OHIO Library, OHRGTR file).

PROCEDURAL AND COURT RULES

Revised Codes: 

• Baldwin's has separate volumes for court rules; Page's has a separate volume for the Civil Rules but includes the others in relevant titles, such as the Criminal Rules in Title 29.

Deskbooks:

• Ohio Rules of Court-State (West) [CIR DESK] KFO529 .A193 - current ed.

• Rules Governing the Courts of Ohio (Anderson) [CIR DESK] KFO529 .A195 - current ed.

• Online: Ohio Supreme Court.

Law Library Collection of Local Rules:

• The Library tries to maintain a current collection of local rules for every county in Ohio and also links to court websites under Ohio Courts on its Internet Legal Websites Page.

Secondary Sources:

• Anderson's Ohio Civil Practice: Pleading-Procedure-Forms KFO530 .A82 2005.

• Klein Darling Civil Practice (Baldwin's Ohio Practice) KFO529 .A2 2013.

• Ohio Civil Rules Practice with Forms (McCormac) KFO529 .A2 2004.

"Legislative History" or Background Materials for Rules:

• The Ohio Supreme Court's Website may have commentary available via the Rule Amendments Search.

• Try Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service Annotated (a.k.a. Ohio Legislative Service Pamphlet). In the final volume for the year in which the rule was passed or amended, look in the index table for the rule number. The index will tell you the volume and page number where you can find the rule changes, and possibly commentary on the rule. (example: 3R-16 is volume 3 page R-16). As of 2016, the Library no longer subscribes to this publication.

• Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated or Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code may reprint committee comments in the rules volumes.

• Law review and journal articles may discuss why a particular rule was enacted or changed.

• You may want to contact the Ohio Supreme Court and/or the court committee that enacted the rule to see if more materials are available.

CASE LAW

The history of Ohio case reporting is complex, and the number of reporters that have appeared over time is great. However, this is the current situation:

Ohio State Reports 3d Series KFO45 .A23.

• Print: Beginning with V.61 in 1991, this series is published separately.

• CD-ROM: Anderson and West.

• Internet: Ohio Supreme Court website www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Rod/docs/.

• Services: Lexis+, Fastcase, Westlaw.

Ohio Appellate Reports 3d Series KFO48 .A22.

• Print: Beginning with V.61 in 1991, this series is published separately.

• CD-ROM: Anderson and West.

• Internet: Ohio Supreme Court website www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/docs/ and various sites gathered at the Law Library's Internet Legal Sites/Ohio Courts.

• Services: Lexis+, Fastcase, Westlaw.

Ohio Miscellaneous Reports 2d Series KFO51 .A24.

• Print: Volumes 61-63 (1991-1993) were published separately. Beginning with V.64, this series is combined with Ohio Appellate Reports 3d Series.

• CD-ROM: Anderson and West.

• Services: Lexis+, Fastcase, Westlaw.

Unreported Decisions

• With the creation of Web Citations, the difference in precedential value for reported and unreported cases has been eliminated for cases decided on and after May, 2002. See Rules for Reporting Opinions.
  

• Internet: Many courts are now putting their decisions on their websites. See the Law Library's Internet Legal Sites/Ohio Courts and Ohio Supreme Court website www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/docs/.
  

• Services: Lexis+, Fastcase, Westlaw.

• Microfiche: The original series of unreported Ohio appellate cases, from 1981-1992. Most of these cases are now available in the other sources listed, but occasionally one will show up here and nowhere else.

CITATORS

• Shepards: Lexis+

• KeyCite: Westlaw.

• Fastcase Authority Check: pulls up cases which cite the case in question, but does not contain signals such as overruled, followed, questioned, distinguished.

ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS & OPINIONS

Online Sources:

• Ohio Attorney General Opinions (1846 - present).

• Ohio Board of Tax Appeals Opinions.

• Civil Rights Commission Administrative Law Judge Decisions (2000 - present).

• Ohio Supreme Court Board of Professional Conduct (1986 - present).

• Ohio Ethics Commission Advisory Opinions (1974 - present).

Print Sources:

• Opinions of the Attorney General of Ohio KFO440 .A442 (1846 - present).

• Ohio Environmental Board of Review Cases KFO354 .A4 (1976 - 1990).

• Official Reporter, SERB/Ohio KFO331 .A55 (1984 - present).

• Advisory Opinions, Ohio Ethics Commission KFO406 .A554 (1974 - 2002).

• Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Bar Opinions KFO76.5 .A2 S96 (1986 - current).

Commercial Sources:

• Lexis+ and Westlaw also contain many agency opinions. Check with a libarian for coverage.

DIGESTS & ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Online Sources:

• West's Ohio Digest is part of the West Digest Topic and Keynumber System. It is a subject index to all reported Ohio case law, including cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts arising in or appealed in Ohio. It includes a Descriptive Word Index and Table of Cases. It is available on Westlaw in the library.

• Ohio Jurisprudence 3d print KFO65 .O35 (1977 - current) contains statutory and case law in a narrative topical arrangement, with references and citations to leading primary and secondary sources. Includes Table of Statutes and Rules Cited, Table of Cases with Annotation References, Words and Phrases and a Desk Book. The latter contains various items useful to practitioners such as the Ohio Constitution, information about legislators and various statistical references. Ohio Jurisprudence 3d is on Westlaw and Lexis+, which is available to members in the Library.

PRACTICE AIDS, FORMBOOKS & TREATISES

Seminar and CLE Materials:

• Various formats: handbooks, audio/video cassettes. Ask a librarian.

Procedural Formbooks:

• Ohio Forms of Pleading and Practice KFO530.A65 M5 (also on Westlaw).

• Ohio Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms (on Westlaw only).

• Anderson's Ohio Civil Practice: Pleading, Procedure, Forms KFO530 .A32.

• Baldwin's Ohio Civil Practice (and Westlaw).Klein, Darling, Civil Practice KFO529 .A2 (also on Westlaw).

Transactional Formbooks:

• Ohio Forms and Transactions KFO68 .S592 (also on Westlaw).

• Ohio Transaction Guide: Legal Forms KFO213.A65 O35 (on Lexis+).

• Couse's Ohio Form Book KFO68 .C65

• Ohio Forms: Practice-Oriented Forms for Ohio Legal and Business Transactions KFO68 .O48 (also on Westlaw).

Treatises:

• Ask a librarian for suggestions on treatises in differernt subject areas.

NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS

The Library receives print copies of:

• Crain's Cleveland Business.

The Library also subscribes to all of the Ohio law reviews:

• The Library has two current periodical indexes. One is LegalTrac, available online; indexes material from 1980 forward. We also have Index to Legal Periodicals in print, covering the years 1926-1998, housed near the Circulation Desk.

• Lexis+ has a major legal periodical database (LAWREV) which includes IAC's Legal Resource Index. Westlaw's legal periodical database identifier is (JLR). Try the database LAWREV-PRO to search all law review and journal articles.

FINDING OHIO LAWYERS

• Information about Ohio lawyers can be found in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory - KF190 .H813 our latest print edition is 2011 and is located on the Reference shelves near the front desk. Current information can be found on the internet at their website: www.martindale.com/. Cleveland attorneys are listed in the current edition of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's Legal Directory KF193.C58 P52 which is also available at the Reference Desk.

• The former West's Legal Directory is now at Findlaw: lawyers.findlaw.com/.

• The Ohio Supreme Court also maintains a database of attorneys who have been admitted to practice in Ohio.

• Daily Legal News has a search engine to find out if someone is currently registered to practice in Ohio, and current address.

• Ohio Super Lawyers - Ohio & Kentucky is an annual publication, that reports the results of a survey of Ohio lawyers concerning the best lawyers in each practice area.(See the Local Materials at the Circulation Desk).

• See Our FAQ You and Your Lawyer for more information on finding and selecting an attorney.

• The Almanac of the Federal Judiciary contains information about all federal judges. [ATTIC 4] KF8700 .A19 A46 1992 - our latest print edition was last supplemented at the end of 2010.

• The American Bench contains information about federal and state judges. [ATTIC 4] KF8700.A19 A47 2004-05 - our latest print edition is 2014.