COURT APPEARANCE POLICY
Rev. Aug. 27, 2024
All court proceedings will be held IN PERSON, unless stated otherwise in the scheduling order or by the court personnel conducting the hearing, meeting or mediation. You may call the Scheduling Department at (330) 643-2365 to confirm if the matter will be held in person also or by Zoom.
Administrative Judge Katarina Cook Zoom Hearings
Dissolution Hearings and Initial Pretrial Conferences in Divorce Cases are held by Zoom.
Judge Kani H. Hightower Zoom Hearings
Parties and Counsel must appear in person for all matters, except as follows: Initial Pretrials and Status Conferences are held by Zoom. The Court must approve any party/counsel’s appearance by Zoom. Absent this confirmation, everyone shall appear in person.
As it relates to a final hearing or Dissolution Hearing, all documents and the proposed Judgment Entry/Decree, must be submitted to the Court at least seven (7) days in advance of the hearing AND the Court must approve the party/counsel’s appearance by Zoom. All final documents, including decrees, and the request to appear by Zoom must be e-mailed to Ryan Kinney rkinney@drcourt.summitoh.net
Every participant in the Zoom hearing must ensure that their first and last name are listed to ensure admission into the hearing.
All persons attending Zoom Meetings, Hearings or Mediations are to follow the Zoom Instructions.
Any person seeking a Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order who is ill and unable to come to the courthouse in person due to that illness shall contact the court at 330-643- 2365 to make alternative arrangements.
The Remember the Children Program and Working Together Programs are online pursuant to Local Rules and may be accessed on this Court’s website. Please contact Family Court Services at (330) 643-2355 for more information on these programs.
If any hearings are authorized for remote attendance, the parties attending the hearing remotely shall connect to the Zoom conference link for the assigned magistrate or judge at the scheduled time of the hearing. A list of Zoom links for judge and magistrate hearings can be found on the court’s website here. Parties must ensure that their Zoom name reflects their full legal name.
Before the day of the hearing, any parties or attorneys with scheduled hearings who are ill, in a high-risk category, or who are otherwise unable to attend a hearing in-person shall file a motion and proposed order to continue with a copy sent to the opposing party or counsel. The assigned magistrate or judge will review the request and determine how to proceed.
Scheduled mediations or meetings with Family Court Services Evaluators are IN PERSON.
Meetings with Guardians ad Litem (GAL) are IN PERSON.
The Court will post any updates and changes to the court website on this page.
If you are attending your hearing via Zoom using a laptop or desktop computer, please download the Zoom client for Windows here. If you are using an Android phone, you can install the Zoom Cloud Meetings app from the Google Play Store on your phone. For iPhone users, you can install the Zoom Cloud Meetings app from the iTunes store. Once you have installed the app, you can enter the designated Zoom meeting at the time of your hearing.
Rev. Aug 27, 2024