BUCKEYE BOYS STATE COURT SECTION

The delegates at American Legion Buckeye Boys State are offered a unique opportunity to participate in the activities within the Court Section. They must pass a bar exam to practice law as private lawyers, prosecutors, law directors, the State Attorney General, and various governmental lawyers, as well to be elected as Judges. The Court Section has all of the Courts that exist in Ohio, including a Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Environmental Court, 8 Courts of Common Pleas and 8 Municipal Courts. Each Court is staffed with bailiffs and clerks to carry out the administrative functions.

Judges and lawyers, who volunteer their time to guide to delegates in legal procedures, research, trials, and appellate practice, advise the Section. Most notable, is Judge Richard Parrott of the Union County Common Pleas Court, who has served on the Court Section Staff for more that 25 years. Judge Donald Reader, retired from the 5^th District Court of Appeals, assists the appellate courts, while Judge Dan Favreau, of the Morgan County Common Pleas Court and Court Section Head, assists the Common Pleas Judges. Judge Tom Old of Newton Falls, Judge Tom Gysegem of Warren and Judge Robert Lavery of Alliance, advise the Municipal and Environmental Judges. Attorney Gary Bishop, an Assistant County Prosecutor from Wood County, guides the private attorneys, prosecutors and law directors through their various duties in the courts.

In the past, the logistics of maintaining a full law library involved transportation, storage and shelving of hundreds of books until the advent of CD ROM materials. Anderson Publishing, for several years, provided Law on Disc, which involved loading the materials on the Bowling Green State University server and the complicated process of creating access in the computer labs. This year, through the cooperation of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Ohio Judicial Conference, the Court Section has been granted online access to Casemaker through the OSBA website, which will provide the wide range of resources necessary for a successful program. This valuable resource is also made available to the Buckeye Boys State Legislature and its Legislative Services division to enhance their ability to write, debate and craft legislation in a professional manner.

The Judges and lawyers in the Court Section recognize that this is just another worthwhile effort of our State Bar Association and the Judicial Conference, and that both organizations recognize the need and value of outreach to our citizens to help them better understand their Court system in Ohio. Judge Dan Favreau, head of the Court Section said, "We greatly appreciate the fact that the OSBA and Judicial Conference recognized our need and came to our assistance. We hope that the many delegates, who someday will become lawyers, will remember how important the OSBA is to lawyers and the Judicial Conference is to the Ohio Judiciary. We are proud to be members of these organizations."