Court Administrator Jeannette Bullard told the Journal-News the move went smoothly.
“We’re finding enough space, it’s a little tight but we’re finding enough space for everything,” she said. “It’s a game of Tetris, putting all the pieces into different areas. But so far it’s gone smoothly.”
The county commissioners signed a five-year lease with the city of Hamilton, agreeing to pay $125,021 for the first year for the former municipal court space. The move became necessary after an Ohio Supreme Court assessment found “safety concerns and inadequacies” at both the Area I and II court locations, according to Bullard.
The three area courts handle most of the misdemeanor and traffic cases, as well as domestic violence cases, OVI (Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated) cases and civil actions up to $15,000 that arise in their respective geographic jurisdictions, according to the court website.
Judge Kevin McDonough has presided over the Area II Court for nearly 20 years and while he said he never felt unsafe on the Historic Courthouse bench, security in GSC where the other courts are located is enhanced.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“We can never really be safe anywhere but I wouldn’t say I felt unsafe, no,” McDonough said. “But it was time to do it, particularly with the option when Hamilton Municipal Court moved out and the space was already set up for courts it made sense to do that.”
The Area I Court gets much of its “business” from Miami University students and also serves the city of Oxford and Hanover, Milford, Morgan, Oxford, Reily and Wayne townships. People doing business with the court must now drive 30 minutes to Hamilton, at least for the next few months.
Mayor’s court plans
Oxford City Manager Doug Elliott told the Journal-News they are in the throes of establishing a mayor’s court which could begin operating in July out of the space vacated by the Area I Court.
Elliott said the caveat is mayor’s courts are not courts of record and have limited jurisdiction, handling only traffic violations, minor misdemeanors, first-offense OVIs and ordinance violations for city residents. Cases out of the townships and more serious matters would still be handled in Hamilton.
He said it will cost roughly $250,000 annually to operate the court, but he feels it would be “self supporting” with fines and forfeitures covering the expense. The city council authorized hiring a magistrate, clerk of court and prosecutor in February. Another future expense will be to address the condition of the building, that also is used for various city functions like city council meetings.
“We’re going to be getting proposals to either renovate the court and bring it up to standards, it doesn’t meet handicapped accessibility, it does not meet our standards, it’s in poor shape,” he said. “So we’re going to look to rehab the building, bring it up to standards or demolish it and build a new facility... But that is a long-term process that’s at least two years out.”
Area I has the lowest case count of the three county courts already and a mayor’s court would drop the number considerably. Last year 2,841 cases were filed in Area I Court, 7,675 in Area II and 7,929 originated in the West Chester location. A study commissioned by Oxford several years ago said a mayor’s court could handle 70% of the cases the Area I Court has, or 1,988.
Area I Court Judge Rob Lyons told the Journal-News “presumably” his docket will shrink with a mayor’s court operating in the city, but the future of the Area Court make-up “remains to be seen.”.
“As of right now we are going to be functioning as two different courts in the same location,” Lyons said. “But how that would transpire still remains to be seen, it’s a work in progress with combining the locations. There may be some functions that are consolidated.”
The Area Court move was also a piece of the county’s massive space reutilization plan that is in progress. Commissioner Don Dixon told the Journal-News the new Oxford mayor’s court could benefit the county as well.
“Whatever they choose to do that’s great, I think they should handle their own destiny that’s a perfect outcome,” Dixon said. “Then we’ll see what opportunities it presents for us with (Area courts) I and II.”
Consolidating the area courts isn’t a novel idea, Prosecutor Mike Gmoser has been pushing for complete consolidation — not just locations as is the case here — for many years. The perception of impropriety when a part-time judge rules on a case one day and then represents a client on the same charge the next has caused Gmoser to seek the end of part-time judges.
Gmoser said he’s glad the two area courts are now in Hamilton in a good facility and that Oxford is establishing its own court.
“In the final analysis, Oxford is going to be able to care of its own minor offenders and if they amount to that to 70% of the cases what a wonderful thing for them to have a say in the outcome of those cases in their jurisdiction,” he said.
There are two fully outfitted municipal courtrooms in the GCS and Bullard said the two judges will share the larger room — they each hold one main court session a week on different days — and the small court can be used for civil hearings and arraignments.
The former Hamilton Municipal Court space has been vacant for a year, since the court moved to the new $32 million Hamilton Justice Center. The Area I Court had until the end of March to vacate the Oxford location.
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