OH HB216

Requires cases in multi-judge municipal or county courts and multi-judge divisions of courts of common pleas to be randomly assigned to judges through an objective and impartial system ensuring equitable case distribution.

Permits courts to modify random assignment by local rule to redistribute cases involving the same criminal defendant, parties, family members, or subject matter.

Exempts specific case categories from random assignment, including civil default motions, guilty pleas, initial appearances, preliminary hearings, immediate trials, small claims, certain eviction cases, and specialized court cases.

Mandates civil cases be randomly assigned when an answer or non-default motion is filed, and criminal cases be randomly assigned when a not guilty plea is entered.

Requires administrative judges to equally distribute particular session assignments among judges with no judge assigned to a particular session for more than two consecutive weeks.