Harnessing the Hired Guns: The Substantive Nature of Ohio Revised Code 2743.43 under Article IV, Section 5(B) of the Ohio Constitution

Authors

Patrick Vrobel

Abstract

Under Article IV, Section 5(B), rules of procedure that impact the substantive rights of Ohio citizens are considered far too important to be encroached upon by the judiciary. Rules affecting substantive rights, therefore, have been expressly delegated to the legislature. Because rules that regulate the competency of medical experts inevitably encroach upon the ability of a tort victim to seek redress in a court of law, such rules impact substantive rights in very real and tangible ways. As a result, the medical expert statute must control. To find otherwise would permit the judiciary to encroach upon the substantive rights of Ohio citizens, something expressly prohibited by the Ohio Constitution. However, even if the medical expert statute does not govern, its provision requiring that medical experts practice in the same or substantially the same specialty still controls as a supplementary regulation to the rules of court procedure permissible under the Ohio Constitution.

Recommended Citation

Note, Harnessing the Hired Guns: The Substantive Nature of Ohio Revised Code 2743.43 under Article IV, Section 5(B) of the Ohio Constitution, 21 J.L. & Health 123 (2007-2008)