Coronavirus: Local judge recognized for taking most of his court operations online

Green County — Governor Mike DeWine recognized Greene County Probate Judge Tom O’Diam on Wednesday during his daily 2 p.m. briefing. The Governor said Judge O’Diam’s ability to continue operations online allowed for a Columbus family to finalize their adoption.

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Judge O'Diam told News Center 7 he is not permitted to talk about adoptions so he had no idea the Governor was going to talk about his court operation.

"I was very surprised", said O'Diam. "I was working on something and someone called me and told me I was on the Governor's daily thing. The family did it. Someone sent me a clip and I was able to see it. I was really happy."

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Judge O'Diam and his staff are now working from home. He said trials and some hearings have been delayed, but he and his staff are able to continue with many other proceedings, including adoptions, on the court's daily docket. Marriage licenses are also available online.

"They put this whole thing together in 10 days and I think the total cost was $142.32. It cost almost nothing to do. It just took some thinking outside of the box on how to make it happen", said O'Diam.

Judge O’Diam said he misses interacting with his staff and families, especially during adoptions, but expects some of the changes the court has made to continue after his staff returns to the courthouse.

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