Franklin County Court
Find Court Resources In Your Area
1 Benjamin Franklin Way, Franklin, OH 45005
Find Court Resources In Your Area
Court, Criminal, Marriage, Divorce, Property
Sponsored Results
Welcome to the Franklincountycourt.org. Here you will find a public records search that includes: marriage, divorce, criminal, arrests, mugshots, missing persons & more. DISCLAIMER: Franklincountycourt.org is not operated by, affiliated or associated with any local, state, or federal government or agency. Franklincountycourt.org works with a aggregation company called PeopleConnect, that collects government-generated records from public sources and provides fast, easy, and inexpensive access to those records. Because those records are subject to change by the original sources, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of the content offered. Franklincountycourt.org is not a consumer reporting company as defined by The Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC § 1681 et seq, and cannot be used for the purposes of establishing credit worthiness, employment background checks, tenant screenings, or evaluation of risk related to business transactions. Avoid using Franklincountycourt.org for criminal purposes such as stalking or identity theft, as such utilizations are subject to civil or criminal charges and penalties. Users must agree with the PeopleConnect terms of service before making use of the service.
Franklin County, Ohio, is a county with a population of 1.3 million which makes it the most populated county in Ohio. Most of the land area is taken up by Columbus, the county, seat, state capital, and most populated city in Ohio. The county was named after Benjamin Franklin and was established in 1803.
Franklin County is the centerpiece for presidential and congressional politics. It is also home to one of the largest universities in the United States, Ohio State University, with 60,000 students on its main campus.
The Courthouse
The Courthouse used today has no specific architectural style and includes the Municipal Court built in 1979, the Courthouse, built in 1991, and the Hall of Justice, built in 1973. The courthouse is the tallest building in the complex at 27 floors, 464 feet. It is the seventh tallest building in Columbus.
In 1887 the second permanent courthouse of Franklin County, Ohio, was built. It was located in Columbus and stood until 1974. This courthouse deteriorated over several decades, and the site was replaced with Dorrian Common Park. Here the courthouse stood until 2018, when the court moved to a new building nearby. As of 2020, this stie is planted to hold the county’s Municipal Court building.
The significant buildings in the courthouse complex include the 19-floor Municipal Court and the 10-floor Hall of Justice. The seven-floor Franklin Couty Common Pleas Courthouse was completed in 2010. In 2013, the Hall of Justice began a two-year renovation.
County Clerk of the Courts
Since Ohio became a state in 1803, the government of Ohio required each county to have a clerk of Courts responsible for the records. The current Franklin County Clerk of Courts is located at 373 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43115, and the phone number is 614-525-3600.
Maryellen O’Shaughnessy is Franklin County, Ohio, Clerk of the Courts (instead of County Clerk). Each county in Ohio must have a clerk of courts who is obliged to preserve records for future generations. The clerk’s offices are independent of the judges they serve. In the Franklin County Clerk of Courts’ Offices, there are 220 full-time Deputy Clerks that serve in five divisions. These divisions are auto title, legal, fiscal service, information technology, and administration. Four of these divisions have different offices in the Courthouse complex. Auto Title is actually in four conveniently located branch offices throughout the County.
The Clerk of the Court is responsible for receiving, receipting, managing, and retaining all legal documents filed through the Court of Common Pleas and the 10th District Court of Appeals. The Clerk of the Court is also responsible for public financial records, including outstanding checks, excess sales proceeds, unclaimed funds, and attorney general reports. The Court Clerk of the Court’s office is the legal guardian and keeper of all the official records of Franklin County, including criminal and civil case filings, search warrants, pleas, and monies that include Court costs, fines, and third-party payments.
District Court
The district court has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases. Criminal jurisdiction encompasses traffic and non-traffic charges. These charges are:
Municipal Court
Before 1916, the Court was under the Justice of the Peace System of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio. Then in 1955, the state created the Municipal Court. The Court was given countywide jurisdiction in 1955, and in 1968 the name was changed to the Franklin County Municipal Court. The current court is at 375 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215.
The court has fourteen General Division judges and one Environmental Division judge. The judges preside over criminal, civil, and traffic cases and conduct jury and non-jury trials. The Court’s primary jurisdiction includes traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount is $15,000 or less.
The Environmental Division has jurisdiction to enforce local codes and regulations that affect real property, like fire and building codes. The Franklin County Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City of Columbus government.
Civil Court
The Civil Department of the Municipal Court accepts and maintains all civil cases with monetary jurisdiction of up to $15,000. This division also processes small claims cases up to $6,000. The Civil Court Division is on the third floor of the Municipal Court Building.
Cases are categorized:
Category A: Personal Injury or Property damage
Category F: Contracts, Notes, and Accounts
Category G: Forcible Entry and Detainer (Evictions)
One Case Action: Restitution of premises
Two Cause Action: Restitution of premises plus monetary judgment
Category H: Other Civil Matters, including diver license suspensions and judgments
transferred from other Ohio courts.
Category I: Small claims
Category P: Appeal of determination by the City of Columbus Parking Violations
Bureau
Civil actions are started in the Franklin County Municipal Court by filing the appropriate complaint, petition, or appeal in addition to the filing fee.
The Southern District of Ohio District Court serves over 5 million citizens in 48 of the 88 counties in Ohio. It is located in Columbus. The 10th District Court of Appeals, located on the 24th floor of the County Administration Building, handles cases from the Court of Common Pleas, Probate Court, Municipal Court, Environmental Court, and Court of Claims. The Chief Judge is Algenon L. Marbley, and the Clerk of Court is Richard W. Nagel.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Ohio represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation.
The Eastern Division sits in the Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse at Columbus and serves many counties, including Franklin County.
Felony Drug Court
Felony Drug Court takes an alternative to prosecuting those charged with felony drug charges by offering a therapeutic approach. Judge Jodi Thomas runs the HART program. The Felony Drug Court has jurisdictional authority over all felony cases, including drug cases.
To protect the population of Franklin County, the drug unit courts work with the HOPE task force and other investigative agencies to combat the effects of the heroin epidemic by prosecuting those who supply the drugs.
Administration
Administrator: Kenneth N. Wilson 614-525-4132
Clerk of the Court: Maryellen O’Shaughnessy
County Attorney: G. Gary Tyack
Judges:
Judge Kim Brown, Administrative Judge
Courtroom SE
614-525-3811
Judge Stephen L. McIntosh, Presiding Judge
Courtroom 4B
614-525-3550
Judge Carl A. Aveni
Courtroom 6A
614-525-6281
Judge Christopher Brown
Courtroom 3F
614-525-6288
Judge Jeffrey Brown
Courtroom 4A
614-525-6281
Judge Kimberly Cocroft
Courtroom 4E
614-525-7200
Judge Daniel R. Hawkins
Courtroom 6B
614-525-6281
Judge Michael J. Holbrook
Courtroom 5B
614-525-3664
Judge Julie M. Lynh
Courtroom 7E
614-525-3777
Judge Andy Miller
Courtroom 5A
614-525-3664
Judge Sheryl K. Munson
Courtroom 7B
614-525-3391
Judge Andria Noble
Courtroom 4F
614-525-7200
Judge Jaiza N. Page
Courtroom 3E
614-525-3765
Judge Karen Held Phipps
Courtroom 7F
614-525-6049
Judge Mark Serrott
Courtroom 6E
614-525-3660
Judge Bill Sperlazza
Courtroom 5F
614-525-5898
Judge David Young
Courtroom 7A
614-525-3770
