Ohio mayor's courts

Many small towns & villages around the country have “mayor’s courts.” In Ohio, the jurisdiction is conferred to mayors of municipal corporations to hear cases involving violations of local ordinances and certain types of traffic violations. But, even though they’ve been around, statewide, since 1838, with the enactment of the first municipal code, they are not well-received in all quarters, including that of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Moyer, who in 2005 called for their abolition.

“Louisiana and Ohio share a dubious distinction,” he told the assembled Ohio State Bar Association’s annual meeting then, in that “they are the only two states that continue to permit one person to serve as executive and as judge in the same city.” (Press Release)

State Representative Larry Wolpert, who was instrumental in a 2003 amendment abolishing them in towns with fewer than 100 residents, likewise would like to see “mayors taken out of power in local justice systems,” and today introduced legislation further barring them from communities with less than 1,600 people. (Article)

There were 336 mayor’s courts in the state, according to the 2005 Supreme Court summary, at least 104 serving populations of less than 1,000. Also according to that report, while 19 Ohio counties don’t have any mayor’s courts, three—Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Franklin (Columbus), and Hamilton (Cincinnati) -- have more than 20.