According to JDJournal online, Harvard Law School has just instituted a program to allow high school juniors to apply for Law School early. Harvard Law Dean Martha Minow explained that:

"The one condition upon acceptance is that they must successfully finish their undergraduate degree and then continue on with at least two years of work, study, or the pursuit of research or fellowship opportunities before starting law school. The intention of the program is to encourage students to obtain work experience before law school as well as motivate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields to bring their skills to the legal field."

This program is an extension of a program Harvard apparently started 2-3 years ago to allow Harvard College juniors to apply to Harvard Law School early. 

    

Today marks the 1st successful week for Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court's new and improved Help Center in Room 29 (basement) of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse.  Although staff in the new Center cannot provide legal advice, they will be able to provide:

• court forms at no cost
• instructions on how to complete court forms
• a review of filled-out forms for completeness and adequacy
• information about court processes, practices, and procedures
• an explanation of the purpose and options available through the Court
• follow-up to ensure all paperwork is ready for final hearings
• notary public services
• help finding free or low cost legal services and programs, including mediation programs

The new Center has 1 computer for lawyers and another for self-represented litigants. These computers will enable users to prepare court forms and calculate child support.

    

In collaboration with the FBI Citizens Academy Foundation of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court, our Law Library, the Cleveland Law Library, dedicated a Little Free Library at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center yesterday on April 18, 2017. We believe that this is the first LFL to be installed in a courthouse in the United States.
This LFL is located in the 2nd floor lobby of the Justice Center near the balcony that overlooks the 1st floor entrance and lobby. It is conveniently located between the Clerk's office and the cafeteria. Our Charter Number is 40074, and it will soon be posted to the map located at littlefreelibrary.org.   After a lovely ceremony and reception yesterday at 1:00 p.m., we saw a little girl take the very 1st book from the LFL! Seeing that assured me that it will be a success and cemented my belief that there can never be too many opportunities for children and teens to read!

This is the 2nd LFL we have created this year. See our prior post about the LFL we established with the Cleveland Public Library. 

    

Many Ohio courts are jumping on the bandwagon to offer E-filing. The Ohio Court of Claims is the latest to join the movement with the launch of its E-Filing system called Odyssey eFileOH™.  According to the Court's website, "Odyssey eFileOH allows users to open cases and file documents from a user-friendly, secure website from anywhere – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The system streamlines filing processes and eliminates the need to file paper documents at the clerk’s counter." Registration at http://www.efileoh.com/ is required, and that site indicates that E-filing is available for the following types of cases: Claims vs. the State; Public Records Requests; and Crime Victims Compensation case types.

The Court has also gone 1 step further and offered an automated specific option for self-represented litigants called Odyssey Guide & File™.  According to the Court, this interface "is similar to a popular tax preparation software" where users will be "guided through a series of questions... [that] will help automatically prepare and file ...court forms online."

    

Effective today, April 17, 2017, E-Filing is now available in the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. As part of the launch of this new service, the Court issued E-Filing Administrative Order 1.0 containing the general rules for E-filing.

The Court's Press Release explains that:

"Attorneys may now electronically file all new domestic relations cases, except domestic violence, beginning April 17, 2017. Other filings in existing cases such as affidavits, briefs, motions, will also be accepted. Self-represented parties may participate in the e-filing program but will not be required to do so. “This is a major step forward in the Court’s efforts to provide access to justice and make our system more convenient. By investing in technology, we expect increased efficiencies and tremendous cost-savings to taxpayers,” said Administrative Judge Rosemary Grdina Gold. “The time saved from improved processes will allow us to focus on better serving the needs of our customers.” The e-filing system will allow court documents that are filed electronically to be integrated into the Court’s electronic case management system. ... There are no additional costs to e-file – users will pay the same filing fees charged for filing paper documents."

The Press Release also identifies the advantages of the new E-filing system.

An E-Filing Account Application, an E-Filing User Guide, and a list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found in the E-Filing portion the Clerk of Courts’ website: http://coc.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/efiling.aspx.

An E-Filing Training Video will be coming soon on the Clerk of Court's web site.