Effective: January 9, 2021
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 312 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) Except as provided in divisions (B) and (D) of this section, the village solicitor, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer for each municipal corporation within the territory of a municipal court shall prosecute all cases brought before the municipal court for criminal offenses occurring within the municipal corporation for which that person is the solicitor, director of law, or similar chief legal officer. Except as provided in division (B) of this section, the village solicitor, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer of the municipal corporation in which a municipal court is located shall prosecute all criminal cases brought before the court arising in the unincorporated areas within the territory of the municipal court.
(B) The Auglaize county, Brown county, Clermont county, Columbiana county, Hocking county, Holmes county, Jackson county, Morrow county, Ottawa county, Paulding county, Perry county, Portage county, and Putnam county prosecuting attorneys shall prosecute in municipal court all violations of state law arising in their respective counties. The Carroll county, Crawford county, Hamilton county, Madison county, and Wayne county prosecuting attorneys and beginning January 1, 2008, the Erie county prosecuting attorney shall prosecute all violations of state law arising within the unincorporated areas of their respective counties. The Darke county prosecuting attorney shall prosecute in the Darke county municipal court all violations of state law arising in the county, except for violations of state law arising in the municipal corporation of Greenville and violations of state law arising in the village of Versailles. The Greene county board of county commissioners may provide for the prosecution of all violations of state law arising within the territorial jurisdiction of any municipal court located in Greene county. The Montgomery county prosecuting attorney shall prosecute in the Montgomery county municipal court all felony, misdemeanor, and traffic violations arising in the unincorporated townships of Jefferson, Jackson, Perry, and Clay and all felony violations of state law and all violations involving a state or county agency arising within the jurisdiction of the court. All other violations arising in the territory of the Montgomery county municipal court shall be prosecuted by the village solicitor, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer for each municipal corporation within the territory of the Montgomery county municipal court.
The prosecuting attorney of any county given the duty of prosecuting in municipal court violations of state law shall receive no additional compensation for assuming these additional duties, except that the prosecuting attorney of Hamilton, Portage, and Wayne counties shall receive compensation at the rate of four thousand eight hundred dollars per year, and the prosecuting attorney of Auglaize county shall receive compensation at the rate of one thousand eight hundred dollars per year, each payable from the county treasury of the respective counties in semimonthly installments.
(C) The village solicitor, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer shall perform the same duties, insofar as they are applicable to the village solicitor, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer, as are required of the prosecuting attorney of the county. The village solicitor, city director of law, similar chief legal officer or any assistants who may be appointed shall receive for such services additional compensation to be paid from the treasury of the county as the board of county commissioners prescribes.
(D) The prosecuting attorney of any county, other than Auglaize, Brown, Clermont, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Morrow, Ottawa, Paulding, Perry, Portage, or Putnam county, may enter into an agreement with any municipal corporation in the county in which the prosecuting attorney serves pursuant to which the prosecuting attorney prosecutes all criminal cases brought before the municipal court that has territorial jurisdiction over that municipal corporation for criminal offenses occurring within the municipal corporation. The prosecuting attorney of Auglaize, Brown, Clermont, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Morrow, Ottawa, Paulding, Perry, Portage, or Putnam county may enter into an agreement with any municipal corporation in the county in which the prosecuting attorney serves pursuant to which the respective prosecuting attorney prosecutes all cases brought before the Auglaize county, Brown county, Clermont county, Hocking county, Holmes county, Jackson county, Morrow county, Ottawa county, Paulding county, Perry county, Portage county, or Putnam county municipal court for violations of the ordinances of the municipal corporation or for criminal offenses other than violations of state law occurring within the municipal corporation. For prosecuting these cases, the prosecuting attorney and the municipal corporation may agree upon a fee to be paid by the municipal corporation, which fee shall be paid into the county treasury, to be used to cover expenses of the office of the prosecuting attorney.