The outcomes from 11 years of probate appeals, county by county, may help answer that key question of keen interest to counsel and their clients

Probate litigators live with a particular kind of uncertainty. The magistrate recommends, the probate judge adopts, and the loser files a notice of appeal. Then everyone waits to learn whether the court of appeals will leave the estate, the guardianship, or the adoption alone. Clients want to know the odds, and most attorneys answer from memory of our last few cases. We decided to count instead.

Continue Reading Applying data science to appellate law: Will the probate court’s judgment hold?

Question: Among the Ohio Supreme Court’s accepted jurisdictional appeals year-to-date (29 grants out of 443 decisions, Jan. 6–June 11, 2026), is there a discernible pattern in which appellate district the granted cases originate from?

Method: We reviewed the listed appellate district for the 443 decisions to date.

Continue Reading Where the grants come from: District-level trends in 2026 jurisdictional acceptances

When we last checked in on the Ohio Supreme Court’s discretionary docket, the March 17 announcement had just delivered a sobering 4% acceptance day and the 2026 Year-to-Date (YTD) figures stood at 205 total decisions. Nearly three months and eleven announcement dates later, the sample has more than doubled. With the June 9 release now in the books, we have 443 jurisdictional decisions to work with—enough to move past week-to-week noise and identify the genuine structural patterns of the court’s first half.

Continue Reading The first-half ledger: Ohio Supreme Court jurisdictional trends through June 2026

Adverse possession is a doctrine that every lawyer encounters early in their first-year law school property class—the classic “squatter’s rights” analysis involving “open, notorious, exclusive and hostile” possession. Despite its ancient roots, it remains “still new law” as the Ohio Supreme Court continues to issue significant clarifications on the high bar required to strip a record title holder of their property.

Continue Reading Keeping the grass short is not enough: The Supreme Court refines adverse possession in NC Enterprises

Ohio’s Westfield v. Galatis test for overruling precedent

Nearly 25 years ago, the Westfield Ins. Co. v. Galatis decision established the Ohio Supreme Court’s three-part test for overruling its own precedent. This is an essential framework for understanding Ohio appellate law. In Galatis, the court emphasized that stare decisis remains the “bedrock of the American judicial system,” ensuring stability and predictability in the law.

Continue Reading Overruling precedent in Ohio: The Westfield v. Galatis test explained

The Ohio Supreme Court’s jurisdictional announcement on March 17, 2026, serves as a stark reminder of the “selective” nature of the discretionary docket. While previous weeks in February and early March showed higher acceptance rates due to held cases, this most recent announcement saw a return to a high-threshold review, particularly in the civil arena. Below, we break down the data from this release, including a practice-area analysis, and how it impacts the 2026 Year-to-Date (YTD) benchmarks for practitioners.

Continue Reading Analyzing the March 17, 2026 Ohio Supreme Court jurisdictional announcements

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently clarified a key question in Ohio zoning law: when does a zoning decision trigger the right to appeal? In 729 West 130th Street, L.L.C. v. Hinckley Twp. Bd. of Zoning Appeals, the court held that an informal email from a zoning inspector is not a “decision” under R.C. 519.15 and does not start the 20-day appeal deadline.

Continue Reading When does the zoning appeal clock start in Ohio?

It is often said that in Ohio politics, a good last name is worth ten points on Election Day and a lifetime of “Wait, which one are you again?” at the local bar association holiday party.  For attorneys navigating Ohio’s 12 appellate districts, the roster of Ohio appellate judges can sometimes feel like a family reunion.

Continue Reading What’s in a name? – Ohio’s tradition of name familiarity on the appellate bench

The Supreme Court of Ohio released another round of jurisdictional decisions on March 3, 2026, declining review in 32 cases and accepting two criminal appeals. The latest discretionary docket update provides additional data for our 2026 year-to-date analysis of Ohio Supreme Court acceptance rates and jurisdictional trends. This announcement addresses 32 rejections and 2 targeted acceptances giving more data for our 2026 Year-to-Date (YTD) analytics but largely confirming the Feb. 21 statistics.

Continue Reading Inside the “black box:” Analyzing the March 3, 2026 jurisdictional announcements

Welcome back to OhioAppeals.com. For practitioners, the Ohio Supreme Court’s discretionary docket can often feel like a black box. By tracking every yes and no, we aim to provide a data-driven look at how the Supreme Court is shaping its calendar.

Continue Reading Inside the “black box:” Analyzing the Feb. 17, 2026 jurisdictional announcements