Constitutional History of Ohio Appellate Courts

The right of appeal, using the word appeal in the broad sense now given it in the Appellate Procedure Act of Ohio, contemplates the removal of a case after judgment or final order, from a court of inferior jurisdiction to a court of higher jurisdiction, in the judicial process for retrial or review. Appeal, particularly on questions of law, is not the procedure intended to be depended on in the first instance to win a lawsuit. Appellate courts were provided in order to protect against trial court mistakes which result in substantial prejudice, or in the denial of justice to one seeking to enforce his legal rights in the courts. Nor should appeals be used to delay the promptness of justice which is legally due to another.

The case law of Ohio, on the subject of appeals, can only be understood by first giving consideration to the historical background of the several court systems of the State.