Franklin County Municipal Court Ceases Court Hearings During COVID-19 Pandemic
Orders from Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health
have placed restrictions on mass gatherings to prevent community spread of
COVID-19. The Franklin County Municipal Court will remain open and functioning
but all scheduled court hearings with the exception of prisoner cases will be
continued to a date to be determined in the near future beginning on Monday,
March 16, 2020.
- Traffic arraignment court will not be conducted for at least the next
three weeks.
- 4C arraignment court will not be conducted for at least the next three
weeks.
- Eviction hearings will not take place for at least the next three weeks.
- Small claims cases will not be heard for at least the next three weeks.
- Scheduled hearings before Magistrates and Judges, except for prisoner
cases, will be rescheduled and a notice of the new court date will be sent to
the address the court has on file.
- Jurors scheduled to report for jury service on March 16th are requested
to stay home until or unless you are notified that your services are needed for
a particular trial.
Municipal Court arraignment session for prisoners will
remain open. But friends and family members of those prisoners are requested to
stay home rather than risk their health by coming to court.
Those who have scheduled weddings at the Courthouse are
discouraged from having their weddings take place here during the next four
weeks. If you wish to reschedule the wedding, please call (614) 645-3889
to reschedule. If you wish to maintain your scheduled date, we will
gladly accommodate your request.
Effective March 23rd, Municipal Court arraignments for
defendants who are in custody will be conducted only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays, rather than the normal Monday through Saturday schedule.
Court employees should report at their regular time until
further notice.
These plans will be in effect until April 20, 2020. We
will continue to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 situation and adapt to meet our
community’s need.
For emergency matters that need immediate attention, please
contact the Judge assigned to your case or the Administrative and Presiding
Judge, Judge Ted Barrows at (614) 645-7655.
As is the practice of the Court, we will continue to make
every effort to minimize the number of prisoners in the county jail, to the
extent that the safety of the community or the alleged victim, if any, is not
jeopardized.
We are continuously assessing the situation to determine if
additional precautions are necessary.