The Wood County Court of Common Pleas Judges Matthew Reger, Mary “Molly” Mack, Joel Kuhlman, and David Woessner will welcome the Sixth District Court of Appeals on Oct. 5, to hear oral arguments in Wood County for the first time since 2018.
The Ohio courts of appeals are established in the Ohio constitution and their primary function is to decide appeals from the common pleas, municipal, and county courts. The state is divided into 12 appellate districts.
The Sixth District Court of Appeals has its courthouse in Toledo and decides appeals from all trial courts across Erie, Fulton, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams and Wood counties. All cases are heard and decided by a three-judge panel, composed of judges who are elected to their position by voters within this same region.
There are five elected judges on the Sixth District Court of Appeals: Presiding Judge Myron Duhart and Judges Mark Pietrykowski, Thomas Osowik, Christine Mayle, and Gene Zmuda.
The Sixth District Court of Appeals functions much like the Ohio or United States Supreme Court in that it determines whether the decision of the lower court should be affirmed or reversed, and its decisions become binding law, or precedent, for future cases within its eight-county territory. The Sixth District Court of Appeals normally hears oral arguments at its courthouse in Toledo.
On Oct. 5, the court will hold a special session of oral arguments in Bowling Green at the Wood County Courthouse. The three-judge panel for these cases will consist of Judges Mark Pietrykowski, Thomas Osowik and Christine Mayle. These arguments are open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to arrive at the courthouse 20minutes ahead of time.
The following cases will be heard, beginning promptly at 10 a.m.:
- Galloway v. Galloway, Case No. E-21-043
- Medical Mutual of Ohio v. FrontPath Health Coalition, Case No. L-21-1226
- State v. Roberts, Case No. L-20-1171
- Gina Salpietro v. Benjamin J. Salpietro, Jr., Case No. WD-22-028
