Franklin County Municipal Court, Columbus, Ohio will reschedule all court hearings based on orders by Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health placing 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