Ohio County Court Information and Location

The General Assembly of Ohio created the Ohio county courts. These are limited jurisdiction courts operating within the boundaries of a particular county. However, county courts can only exercise authority if a certain area within a county is not under the jurisdiction of a municipal court. Though there are 88 counties in Ohio, the number of county courts is only 39. In most cases handled by a Ohio county court, a jury trial is arranged.

Ohio County Courts: Jurisdiction

The types of cases heard by the Ohio county courts include both criminal and civil cases, the details of which are as follows:

·    Miscellaneous civil cases
·    Real property, tort and contract cases (involving disputes worth less than $15,000)
·    Small claims cases (maximum limit $3,000)
·    Criminal cases (preliminary hearings of felonies)
·    Misdemeanor cases (traffic and non-traffic violations, ordinance violations, etc)

Another important function of the judges of the county courts of Ohio is to perform and authorize marriages.

Ohio County Courts: Judges

Attorneys with a minimum of 6 years of experience are eligible for the post of a judge at the Ohio county courts. They are elected on the basis of a non-partisan ballot and serve a term of 6 years as part-time judges at the particular Ohio county court they are appointed to.

Ohio County Court of Common Pleas

Apart from the county courts, each Ohio county has a Court of Common Pleas as well. These general jurisdiction trial courts have been established according to Article IV, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution. The responsibilities and powers of the Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are detailed in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution. These are the only trials courts in the state and thus of considerable significance in the judiciary system structure of Ohio.

Ohio County Court of Common Pleas: Divisions

The courts of common pleas located in all Ohio counties are divided into a number of sections depending on their powers and duties. These divisions have been done according to the directives of the General Assembly. The divisions of the Ohio County Court of Common Pleas are as follows:

General Division: This division of the courts of common pleas have original jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. However it handles only those civil cases where the amount of dispute exceeds $15,000. In criminal cases, only felony charges are handled by the general division of the courts.

Juvenile Division: This division handles cases involving individuals under the age of 18 years who have been charged with criminal activities. It also hears cases where the subject matter is neglected or unruly or dependent children. The division can also exercise authority in cases which involve child abuse, paternity, contribution to the criminal activities of minors, nonpayment of support, failure to provide schooling to children, and so on.

Domestic Relations Division: This division of the court of common pleas exercises authority over the hearings of cases involving divorce proceedings, dissolution of marriages, legal separation, annulment, child custody and care, support of spouse, etc.

Probate Division: According to the directives of the Ohio Constitution of 1851, independent probate courts were set up in the state. These had jurisdiction over the cases involving probate of wills as well as supervision over the management of property and guardianships. However this changed in 1968 with the Modern Courts Amendment. This amendment made the probate courts part of the Court of Common Pleas. It also expanded the jurisdiction of the probate courts.

Now the probate division handles cases involving marriage license issuance, proceedings with regard to adoptions, mental competency or sanity determination, and so on. The judges working in this division can perform and authorize marriages for a particular fee as well.

Ohio County Court of Common Pleas: List

It is not necessary that every Ohio County Court of Common Pleas has all these divisions. The presence or absence of a particular division depends on the population, case load and other such factors. If you want to contact the Court of Common Pleas in your county, the comprehensive list of Ohio County Court of Common Pleas is available at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/JudSystem/trialCourts/.

The counties are listed in alphabetical order and you can check out the websites of the different county courts of common pleas directly when you click on the particular links on this webpage. The divisions of these courts are also listed on the same webpage.

Ohio County Court of Common Pleas: Accessing Information

For example, if you are a resident of Jefferson County, Ohio, you can visit http://www.jeffersoncountyoh.com/CountyCourts/CommonPleas/tabid/157/Default.aspx and it would show that the address and contact number of the County Court of Common Pleas is:

301 Market Street
2nd Floor
Steubenville, Ohio 43952
Phone (740)283-8543

You can visit this location to check information with regard to the cases filed there.

In case you are unable to visit the court location, you can also opt for a case lookup online. For this you need to go to http://gov.gbscorp.com/OH.Jefferson.CP/CaseSearch/default.aspx.

This search gives you the option to locate a particular case file on the basis of a number of search categories like the first and last name of the party, the company name, the attorney name, the case number and the range of the filing date, the ticket number and the date of birth. If you can provide information with regard to the case type it would narrow down the search results and make it simpler to locate a particular case file.

However online services are not available for locating case files of all Ohio County Courts of Common Pleas. For example, if you want to access information about the cases filed at this court in the Cuyahoga County, you need to visit the office location at:

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court (General Division)
1200 Ontario Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1678.

No online access to information in this county is available.
 

Specific Ohio Count Court Information:

Clark County Court

Franklin County Court

Licking County Court

Mahoning County Court

Montgomery County Court

Stark County Court