Feed on
Posts
Comments

The Ohio Supreme Court held that the Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court did not have jurisdiction to review a case claiming improper fees charged by a municipal court.  Lingo v. State, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-1052. 

The Common Pleas Court decided that it had jurisdiction because Wohl, clerk of the Berea Municipal Courts, is an administrative officer. Article IV, Section 4(B) of the Ohio Constitution states that  courts of common pleas shall have powers of review of proceedings of administrative officers and agencies.  However, according to the Ohio Supreme Court, Wohl “had no authority to alter the costs assessed by the court, irrespective of whether the court’s assessment complied with statutory requirements, because such an act would violate the statutory provisions conferring judicial power on the Berea Municipal Court pursuant to Article IV, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution.”  The Court of Common Pleas could only grant relief to the plaintiff by overturning the judgment of the Municipal Court, and that is an unconstitutional encroachment on the powers of the Court of Appeals.  Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 2(B)(2) , Article IV, Section 3(B)(2).

 

 

Leave a Reply