How cases reach the court
The Supreme Court of Ohio's appellate jurisdiction is set by Article IV, Section 2(B)(2) of the Ohio Constitution. It provides for appeals as of right in cases originating in the courts of appeals and in cases involving questions arising under the United States or Ohio Constitution, although under S.Ct.Prac.R. 5.02 an appeal asserting a substantial constitutional question proceeds as a jurisdictional appeal. Other cases arrive by discretionary review: felony cases on leave, and cases "of public or great general interest." Cases also arrive when a court of appeals certifies a conflict under Article IV, Section 3(B)(4). The Supreme Court reviews the certification order, dismisses the case if it finds no conflict, and otherwise identifies the issues to be briefed. S.Ct.Prac.R. 8.02. In practice, most civil litigants seek review through a jurisdictional appeal under S.Ct.Prac.R. 5.02 and 7.01.
The jurisdictional appeal and the memorandum
To perfect a jurisdictional appeal, the appellant files a notice of appeal within forty-five days from entry of the court of appeals judgment, together with a memorandum in support of jurisdiction. S.Ct.Prac.R. 7.01(A)(1)(a). Except as provided in divisions (A)(2) through (A)(6), which address later notices and cross-appeals, a motion for stay filed before the memorandum, delayed appeals in felony cases, and timely applications for reconsideration or en banc consideration in the court of appeals, the rule calls the time period mandatory, and the clerk will refuse a late filing. S.Ct.Prac.R. 7.01(A)(1)(b). The memorandum must present numbered propositions of law and a thorough explanation of why the case raises a substantial constitutional question or is of public or great general interest. S.Ct.Prac.R. 7.02. That explanation is the heart of the filing: the court is deciding whether the issue matters beyond the parties, not whether the court of appeals got this case wrong.
The propositions of law also define the case if review is granted. In Johnson v. Abdullah, the court declined to reach arguments that were "beyond the scope of the proposition of law accepted for review." 2021-Ohio-3304, ¶ 41. Draft propositions as general rules of law the court could adopt.
Certified conflicts
When a court of appeals' judgment conflicts with another district's judgment on the same question, a party may move to certify the conflict. Under App.R. 25(A), the motion is due no later than ten days after the clerk mails the judgment and notes the mailing on the docket, and filing it "does not extend the time to appeal" to the Supreme Court. Counsel who want both routes should file the motion and calendar the forty-five-day jurisdictional deadline independently.
Original actions and extraordinary writs
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in quo warranto, mandamus, habeas corpus, prohibition, and procedendo. Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 2(B)(1). The courts of appeals share that jurisdiction under Section 3(B)(1). The writs are not substitutes for appeal. For mandamus, the relator "must establish a clear legal right to the requested relief, a clear legal duty on the part of the [respondent] to provide it, and the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law." State ex rel. Waters v. Spaeth, 2012-Ohio-69, ¶ 6. Relators must prove entitlement to the writ by clear and convincing evidence. Id. at ¶ 13. Because an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law defeats the writ, a petition should explain specifically why an appeal is not adequate.
Practice pointers
- Calendar forty-five days from the court of appeals entry the day the decision issues, then check whether a timely App.R. 26(A) application for reconsideration or en banc consideration, or another exception in S.Ct.Prac.R. 7.01(A), moves the date.
- Write for the court's docket, not the parties. Explain why the question recurs and why the answer matters statewide.
- Preserve the issue below. Arguments not raised in the court of appeals are difficult to present. See preservation and plain error.
- Check finality before seeking a writ. See final appealable orders.
Recent analysis
Ohio Saving Statute Refiling After Kohn v. Glenmede (2026)
Kohn v. Glenmede Trust Co., N.A., 2026-Ohio-4001
When an earlier action was timely commenced and later failed other than on the merits, R.C. 2305.19(A) lets the plaintiff commence a new action within one year of that failure (or within the original limitations period, if later), and every claim in it is saved, even claims whose limitations period ran before a previous use of the statute. Because the case came up as a certified conflict, the court also revived claims the plaintiff never cross-appealed.
Ohio Discretionary Immunity Is Jurisdictional: Wilkes v. ODOT (2026)
Wilkes v. Ohio Dept. of Transp., 2026-Ohio-3897
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that ODOT's decision not to install temporary vandal-protective fencing on a bridge under reconstruction, made with no policy requiring it, was a basic policy decision involving a high degree of discretion. ODOT was immune, the Court of Claims lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, and the wrongful-death action must be dismissed, even though the case had already been tried on the merits.
Published for Ohio attorneys; not legal advice. Rules and statutes change, so confirm current text before relying on it.