Dear Students:

The Ninth District Court of Appeals' "Ask A Judge" program provides you with a unique, virtual opportunity to ask a judge a question about how our courts and legal system work.  The program's purpose is to encourage you to learn and think about our legal system and to receive answers to your questions from the judges who preside in our courts.  Through this program, and the Court's Courtroom in the Classroom Program, we hope to demonstrate that access to the court system is available to everyone. 

The five Judges of the Ninth District Court of Appeals will take turns answering your questions.  The Judges will take their time to do this with the hope that you will benefit from learning about the legal system directly from its participants. 

You must remember that the ethical rules that govern judicial conduct prevent a judge from commenting about any pending cases or providing personal legal advice.  The Judges ask you to follow the guidelines for asking questions as they will be able to answer only questions that comply with the guidelines.

Thank you for your interest in learning more about the Ninth District Court of Appeals, the Judges, and the legal system.  Your knowledge and understanding of these topics will benefit you and every citizen as we all learn about and understand our civic rights and responsibilities.

The next step is to read the information following this letter.  You can then click on the link to open an email window or you can copy and paste the Ask-A-Judge email address into your email program.

Ask-A-Judge Guidelines

You should:

- ask the judge a general question about the law or the justice system. 

- ask the judge one question at a time.

- keep your question brief and avoid lengthy factual background information (for example, a quick summary of a newspaper article is proper, but you should not recite the entire article).

- be respectful, both in the tone of your question and in addressing a State of Ohio judge.

You should not:

- ask the judge to comment about a specific case pending before any court

- solicit legal advice.

A judge will make every effort to answer your question within thirty days of receipt.  Notable or frequently asked questions will appear on this site for the benefit of all visitors.  If your question does not fall within these guidelines, you will be notified as soon as possible. 

Suggestions

You should consider the following format for your message to the judge:

Dear Judge:

 [- Write out your question -]

 Sincerely,

(your name, grade, school, and the date)

Sample question formats: 

While [watching the news on television or reading a story in the internet], I heard about a case that involved [a guilty plea/a mistrial]. What does that mean? 

What does a [Court of Appeals] judge have to do in order to become a judge? 

How does the judge know what law applies in a [criminal/breach of contract/personal injury] case?

Why do judges wear black robes?

When you are ready to write your email, you can click here or address your email to:  AskAJudge@ninth.courts.state.oh.us.

Recently asked questions:

None yet - yours could be here!