The Supreme Court of Ohio
& The Ohio Judicial System

Off-Site Court Program

In 1987, Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, Supreme Court of Ohio, wanted to honor the year of the bicentennial of the U. S. Constitution and initiated the educational program, Off-Site Court, which has brought the judiciary live and in person to local communities across Ohio for 24 years.

The Off-Site Court program is designed to educate high school students and other Ohioans throughout the state about Ohio's judicial system.

Twice each year, once in the spring and once in the fall, the Supreme Court of Ohio relocates from the capital city and holds sessions in another community, selecting a different county each time.

When the Supreme Court holds court off-site, public, private and home-schooled high school students from throughout the host county are invited to participate. The students and their teachers are provided with curriculum material to study before the session, including summaries of the specific cases to be argued. Local attorneys team with educators at each participating school to explain Ohio's judicial system and review case materials.

On the morning of the court session, selected students attend a question and answer session with the justices of the Court. Then, students from each participating school attend one of the four oral arguments. After their assigned case has been argued, each group of students meets with the case attorneys for a debriefing.

To date, the Off-Site Court program has enabled 35,525 Ohioans, 29,055 of them students, to personally observe the proceedings of the Supreme Court and interact with justices, attorneys and court staff.

For more information, please contact Julie Manning, Civic Education Section, Supreme Court of Ohio, at 614.387.9223.