The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has approved new procedures for cases seeking judicial review of a decision from the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Pursuant to S.D. Ohio General Order 22-04, effective February 1, 2022, all new Social Security appeals filed in this District will be randomly assigned to the District’s Magistrate Judges in equal proportions. As the presiding judge, the Magistrate Judge will conduct all proceedings, including entry of final judgement. The goal of this process is to maximize the judicial resources of this District in the handling of these cases by encouraging social security litigants to affirmatively consider consenting to the exercise of full civil case management and adjudication by its Magistrate Judges.

Consent to a Magistrate Judge is voluntary, and there will no adverse substantive or procedural consequences imposed should a party choose not to consent to plenary Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. Upon the filing of a case, all parties are provided with a form to either: (1) consent to the jurisdiction of a Magistrate Judge; or (2) decline such jurisdiction and request additional assignment to a District Judge for rendering a final judgment. All responses are kept confidential. For more information, please see S.D. Ohio General Order 22-04.