Criminal Division

Criminal Arraignments are held on Tuesdays at 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Reference your ticket for your court appearance date and time.
Tax Arraignments are held on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m.

What to do When You Appear
Report to the Criminal/Traffic Clerk’s service window and check in by properly identifying yourself.

In Court
When Court begins, the Judge will advise you of your rights and the pleas available to you by a video and given to you by a pamphlet:

When your case is called you will be required to enter one of the following pleas: Guilty, Not Guilty or No Contest.

Guilty or No Contest

Guilty
A plea of guilty is a complete admission of your guilt.

No Contest
A plea of no contest is not an admission of guilt, but is an admission of the facts alleged in the Complaint or Ticket and such a plea shall not be used against you in any subsequent civil or criminal proceedings.

If you plead Guilty or No Contest, it is likely you will be sentenced immediately. You will then go to the Clerk’s Office to set up any jail time and/or pay fines and court costs.

Not Guilty
A plea of not guilty is a denial of the allegation contained in the Complaint or Ticket. You will be given a notice of the date and time to return to the Court for a pretrial or trial.

Court Appointed Attorney
If you are charged with a jailable offense and do not have money for an attorney, you may request to have an attorney appointed to you. Ohio Law requires all persons applying for a court-appointed attorney to pay a non-refundable $25.00 application fee (whether you are approved or denied).

Notice
Failure to appear or failure to comply at your scheduled court appearance may result in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest.

Payments
At the Criminal/Traffic Window, only local bank checks and cash will be accepted for payments, no starter checks or credit/debit cards are accepted.  Payments can be made using a credit/debit card by calling 1-855-897-1085 or by clicking on Online Payments.