4/30/97 Contact: Ralph Izard, Ohio University, 614/593-259 Thomas Hodson, 614/593-6410

ATHENS, Ohio -- E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Director Ralph Izard and Ohio University Trustee Thomas Hodson have been appointed to the Ohio Courts Futures Commission, a group established to choose the direction of the courts in Ohio for the next 25 years.

Izard chairs the commission's Task Force on Public Education and Awareness.

Hodson is a part-time instructor in the School of Journalism, a former judge in the Athens County Common Pleas and Athens Municipal courts, and an Athens attorney. Izard and Hodson were appointed by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer.

The 50-member commission, comprised of lawyers, judges and lay people, will make decisions about future court administration, procedures and structure in Ohio.

The panel is charged with assessing the courts' strengths and weaknesses, envisioning ideal goals and objectives of the courts, and recommending strategies to reach those ideals. Among issues under consideration are the public's image and understanding of the courts, changing the structure of the courts system, diversity and quality of the judiciary, adapting to technical advances, and both traditional and innovative means of dispute resolution.

Izard's task force will generate strategies to raise public understanding of the courts and improve the public's attitude toward the judiciary through better media-court relations, community outreach programs and law-related education.

The Futures Commission, which was launched in September 1996, is scheduled to generate its final recommendations by late 1998.