Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

In Ohio, Civil Rule 53 allows for the Court to appoint a Magistrate (sometimes referred to as a "Referee" meaning a person to whom the case was referred for a hearing) to hear the case instead of the Judge. A Magistrate is an Ohio attorney of more than 5 years experience who has been appointed by the Court to act as an extra set of eyes and ears for a judge and to hear the case and to make a Magistrate's Decision on the issues in question.

But the Magistrate's Decision has no legal force since the Magistrate is not a judge. Rather, it is an advisory opinion to the judge telling the judge how the judge should rule on the case. Civil Rule 53 allows any party to a case who does not like the Magistrate's recommendation to the judge (and apparently the mother did not like the ruling) to file Civil Rule 53 Objections to the Magistrate's Decision. This must be done with 14 days of the Magistrate's Decision (though this is often extended because the party who wants to object often needs to get a transcript of the hearing in order to fully argue the points).

Once the other side files their objections, you have 10 days to respond with a Memo Contra saying that the Magistrate got it right and that all of the objections are not well-taken. You can give examples from testimony and make legal arguments from statutes and cases in support of your position that the Judge should adopt the Magistrate's Decision.

After the judge has read the Magistrate's Decision, read the objections, and read your response to the objections, then the judge will rule on whether or not the Magistrate got it right. At that point, the judge can sign off on the Magistrate's Decision (meaning that it becomes an enforceable order of the Court), can reverse the Magistrate's Decision in whole or in part, or can order a new hearing wherein the judge will hear the testimony rather than the Magistrate.