MEET JUDGE HORTON'S TEAM
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas
369 South High Street
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 Judge Horton |
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Bailiff |
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 Staff Attorney |
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Secretary |
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 Court Reporter |
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 Magistrate Judge |
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Judge Timothy S. Horton’s |
Communications and Inquires To inquire about a scheduling matter with the Court, please contact Judge Horton’s staff. Their contact information may be retrieved by clicking onto their respective hyperlinks. Prior to contacting the Judge’s staff to inquire about information regarding the status of a case, first check the Case Information Online website feature on the Franklin County clerk of court website by clicking: http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/clerk/recordsonline.php. Local rules may be found here. Ohio Rules can be found at www.sconet.state.oh.us./Rules/Courtroom & Chambers Decorum All persons entering the Courtroom and Judge’s Chambers shall conduct themselves with deference for the Court, displaying respect for the law, parties, counsel, deputies, and staff. Appropriate dress is required (no shorts, tank tops or hats). All cell phones, pagers, and other audible electronic devices shall be turned off. Water is permitted in the Courtroom, however, no other beverage or food is allowed. Counsel should contact the Bailiff if they have any questions regarding this matter. Status Conferences Counsel may request status conferences with the Court to discuss the status of a case, discovery disputes, procedural issues, and to resolve scheduling conflicts. Status Conferences are conducted by Judge Horton and/or his Staff Attorney. Permission to appear by phone must be requested and received in advance of the status conference. Judge Horton welcomes the use of status conferences to resolve issues among counsel. Motions and Briefs An extra copy of motions and briefs shall be submitted to the Judge. Counsel is welcome to request oral argument for matters that involve complex issues of law or fact. Pretrial motions, including motions in limine, must be filed 14 days in advance of trial. Regardless of whether the scheduling order applicable to the case provides a deadline for such motions, it is understood that such motions will not ordinarily be received during trial. Continuances Agreed requests for continuances are preferred but not required. Judge Horton expects parties to seek the consent of the opposing party prior to requesting a continuance. Pretrial Procedures Final Pretrial Final pretrials are set in all civil cases by the assignment office. Additional pretrials may be requested by parties and set by the Court. Counsel should be prepared to discuss jury instructions, outstanding issues/motions, and explore settlement. For a list of items that will be discussed click the following Pretrial Checklist. Counsel should file a joint final pretrial statement on or before the date and time of the final pretrial conference pursuant to Local Rule 41.04. Proposed civil jury instructions and verdict forms should be emailed at least 14 days prior to the start of trial to Judge Horton’s Staff Attorney at Lasheyl_Sowell@fccourts.org and his Secretary at Vanita_Sipe@fccourts.org. In addition, proposed criminal jury instructions and verdict forms should be emailed at least 14 days prior to the start of trial to Judge Horton’s Bailiff at Amy_Flowers@fccourts.org and his Secretary at Vanita_Sipe@fccourts.org. Joint jury instructions and verdict forms (which are encouraged) may be emailed to Judge Horton’s staff the day before trial. Settlement Parties are expected to negotiate in good faith and thoroughly explore all matters in an attempt to reach a peaceful resolution before proceeding to trial. The Court may refer some cases to the Magistrate for mediation. Mediation At the request of any party, Judge Horton may refer a case to his magistrate judge for mediation if appropriate. The magistrate judge may require a brief confidential settlement statment from each party. A request for mediation may be made on a confidential ex parte basis. Trial Civil trials are scheduled the first two weeks of each month and Criminal trials are ordinarily scheduled during the last two weeks. The Strike Method of Jury Selection The jury is selected immediately prior to trial using the “strike method” for jury selection and all members of the jury venire called for the trial – usually about 24 persons – are normally subjected to voir dire. A list of the jurors to be called for the case is distributed to counsel by Judge Horton’s bailiff the morning of the trial. Potential jurors will be seated randomly in the jury box and in the first two rows of the courtroom. The attorneys are permitted to conduct voir dire after the jurors are sworn in and preliminary questions are asked from Judge Horton. The Judge’s voir dire will solicit any requests from jurors to be excused from jury duty on the ground of hardship, and the Judge will determine such requests before turning voir dire over to the attorneys. Counsel should keep in mind that the purpose of voir dire is to secure every litigant an unbiased jury. Dowd-Feder v. Truesdell, (1936) 130 Ohio St. 530 (paragraph three of the syllabus). Following voir dire, any party having any challenge for cause should make known to the Court that a matter outside of the presence of the jury is to be taken up, in which case the jury panel will be excused and the challenges determined. The parties will then strike the jury, using a single jury list. Judge Horton generally seats 14 jurors, of who 2 will be alternates. If the 2 alternates are not used, they will be excused before jury deliberation begins at the end of the case. Each side’s last strike will be designated as an alternate. All jurors will take a second oath; however, alternate jurors will take a slightly different second oath. Presentation of Evidence Counsel should familiarize themselves with Judge Horton’s courtroom prior to trial. Chalkboard’s and easels are stored in the jury deliberation room. If counsel desires to use any video/audio equipment, please contact Judge Horton’s bailiff. Exhibits should be marked ahead of time with copies available for the Court (2), witness stand (1), the parties (1), and the originals maintained by the court reporter. Original exhibits will remain in the custody of the court reporter until the jury begins deliberation. Counsel are encouraged to determine which exhibits will be marked joint exhibits and admitted without objection into evidence prior to trial. Questions to witnesses and arguments to the Court must be made from the podium. Counsel should request permission before approaching the witness or the bench to provide a document or exhibit. All objections and other remarks to the Court must be made while standing. Objections must be succinct, without argument or commentary. If argument is needed, counsel may request to approach the bench. Counsel should anticipate any evidentiary questions or disputes and bring them to the attention of the Judge ahead of time. Counsel should request the separation of witnesses before the presentation of evidence. No separated witness should be advised by anyone, of the testimony of any other witness who has already testified. After testifying, a witness is deemed released by consent unless counsel or the Court indicates that the witness should not be so released. When there are multiple defendants, counsel is responsible for the coordination of cross-examination. The Judge will not permit repetitive cross-examination. Trial Schedule Generally, trials begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. and end at approximately 5:00 p.m. each day, with an hour lunch break at noon and breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Foreseeable delays or scheduling conflicts should be raised by counsel at the final pretrial. Prior to closing argument the Judge will conduct a final jury charge conference and advise counsel of the substance of the final jury charge. The final jury charge is given after closing argument, and before the jury begins deliberation. Counsel will be given an opportunity to make any objections to the final jury charge on the record. Judge Horton will send the jury a written copy of his final jury charge for the jury’s reference during deliberation. |