As there may be more one source to obtaining Ohio criminal, civil and divorce records, it is important to search multiple state courts to find the correct records.

Ohio State Court Structure:

The Ohio supreme court has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, capital criminal, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, disciplinary, and original proceeding cases. The supreme court has discretionary jurisdiction in civil, non capital criminal, juvenile, original proceeding, and interlocutory decision cases. The Ohio court of appeal has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, original proceeding, and interlocutory decision cases. The court of appeal has no discretionary jurisdiction. The Ohio court of common pleas has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($500/no maximum), appeals of administrative agency cases, and miscellaneous civil cases. The court of common pleas has exclusive mental health, and estate jurisdiction. The court of common pleas also has exclusive domestic relations jurisdiction. The Ohio court of common pleas also has jurisdiction over felony, and miscellaneous criminal cases. The court of common please also hears traffic/other violation (juvenile cases only). The Ohio court of common pleas has exclusive juvenile jurisdiction. The court of common pleas has jury trials in most cases. The Ohio county court has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0 to $15,000), small claims up to $2,000, and miscellaneous civil cases. The Ohio county court also hears felony, misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, and criminal appeals cases. The county court has jurisdiction over traffic/other violation, except for parking cases. The county court handles preliminary hearings. The county court has jury trials in most cases. The Ohio municipal court has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0 to $15,000), small claims up to $2,000, and miscellaneous civil cases. The Ohio municipal court also hears felony, misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, criminal appeals, and traffic/other violation cases. The municipal court handles preliminary hearings. The municipal court hears jury trials in most cases. The Ohio court of claims has jurisdiction over miscellaneous civil, actions against the state; victims of crime cases. The court of claims has jury trials. The Ohio mayor's court has jurisdiction over DWI and DUI, traffic and other violation cases. The Ohio major's court has no jury trials.