The Clermont County Juvenile Court proposes to amend Local Rule 22 to include provisions of Rule 48 of the Rules of Superintendence governing the Courts of Ohio which become effective on January 1, 2021.
Please review the proposed modifications to Local Rule 22 as attached and submit any comments for consideration to gbryant@clermontcountyohio.gov before December 30, 2020. The court currently plans to adopt Amended Local Rule 22 to become effective January 1, 2021.
Thank you for your consideration.
Judge James A. Shriver
RULE 22. Guardian Ad Litem
(A) The appointment, training, responsibilities and issuing of reports of Guardians Ad Litem and the responsibilities of the Court pertaining to Guardians Ad Litem shall be governed by Rule 48 of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio.
(B) Pursuant to Rule 48.06(A)(2) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio, all reports of the guardians ad litem shall include the following wording: “The Guardian Ad Litem report shall be provided to the Court, unrepresented parties, and legal counsel. Any other disclosure of the report must be approved in advance by the Court. Unauthorized disclosure or distribution of the report may be subject to court action, including the penalties for contempt, which include fine and/or incarceration.” Individuals subject to sanctions include the Guardian Ad Litem, a party and a party’s attorney.
(C) All written reports of the Guardian Ad Litem shall have a notice cover sheet that shall read as follows: This report is being provided to the Court, unrepresented parties, and legal counsel of record. If you are an attorney, you may share its contents with your client. However, any other disclosure of the report must be approved in advance by the Court. Unauthorized disclosure of the report in any fashion through any means including, but not limited to, copying the report, posting it or any portion of it on social media or other mediums, or disclosing all or portions of the report to another person, without prior approval, may be subject to Court action including penalties for contempt, which include incarceration and fines.
(D) Rates of compensation for Guardians Ad Litem shall be as determined from time to time by the Clermont County Board of County Commissioners. In addition thereto, necessary and reasonable expenses may be allowed for such items as expert witness fees, polygraph exams, long distance telephone calls, photocopying, and certain travel expenses, so long as prior approval of the Judge is obtained. The Court may not allow for any fixed office overhead expenses, court transcripts or depositions, except as provided by law.
Expenses shall be submitted within 10 days of the final disposition in the case and shall be submitted on the approved forms so that the Court and County can file a claim for state reimbursement. Failure to file the expense report within 30 days will result in no payment.
(E) Requests for extraordinary fees must be made by written motion and should be submitted with supporting information, including all regular billing documents, to the Director of Court Service. An award for extraordinary fees will be made only with the approval of the Judge.
(F) The Court may appoint a Guardian Ad Litem to provide the Court recommendations in the best interest of minor children in any action over which this Court has jurisdiction, on the Court’s own motion or on the motion of any party. The appointment shall be made by Court order and duly docketed in the case. The Guardian Ad Litem shall serve until discharged by the Court.
(G) All filing fees and court costs are waived for a Guardian Ad Litem.
(H) Attorneys accepting appointments to serve as Guardian Ad Litem shall not, absent an emergency, allow or direct substitute counsel to appear. Repeated failure to personally appear shall result in removal from the lists set forth above.