Ohio Municipal Courts

Ohio Municipal Courts are law courts of limited jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Ohio that handle cases involving traffic, non-traffic misdemeanors, evictions and small civil claims (in which the amount in controversy does not exceed $3,00 for small claims and $15,000 for municipal court). These courts also conduct preliminary hearings in felony cases.[1]

Ohio's municipal and county courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and courts of record. They are created by the General Assembly as provided in R.C. 1901 and 1907, and are limited by subject-matter jurisdiction.

Municipal courts in Ohio are far more limited in scope than county (referred to as Common Pleas courts). In some counties, there is only one municipal court which exercises jurisdiction countywide and is usually referred to as the county municipal court (i.e. Wayne County Municipal Court). All 88 counties have a Common Pleas Court, but each county's municipal jurisdiction is individual to that county's needs. Some counties have several municipal courts (Cuyahoga county has 14 municipal courts). Some, like Portage County, has only the Portage County Municipal Court, but has 2 separate courthouses: 1 in Ravenna and 1 in Kent, for all its municipal case needs.

Judges of the municipal courts are elected to six-year terms on a nonpartisan ballot, although candidates may choose to run in partisan primary elections. In order to be appointed or elected to the court, a person must be an attorney with at least six years of experience in the practice of law.