The Criminal/Traffic Department processes and maintains criminal, traffic, and environmental cases. The Criminal/Traffic Division provides a multitude of services to the general public, law enforcement and the Court. There are also several publicly available forms for use with criminal or traffic cases.
The Criminal/Traffic Department processes and maintains all misdemeanor criminal cases, felony filings, traffic cases requiring a court appearance, and numerous payable traffic offenses. This Criminal/Traffic division is located on second floor of the Municipal Court Building at 375 South High Street.
All public phone inquiries should be directed to (614) 645-8186 to contact the Criminal Department Call Center from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. everyday.
A special attorney counter and telephone line has been designated to expedite filings and requests by attorneys only. The telephone number for attorneys only is (614) 645-8449.
A special bail bondsmen telephone line has been designated also. The telephone number for bail bondsmen only is (614) 724-0659.
The Criminal/Traffic Department accepts all types of criminal motions, demands, and legal filings twenty-four hours a day, every day. The Clerk's Office notifies the appropriate prosecutor's office when a motion or demand has been filed at the defendant's request and can provide attorneys with court-approved forms for continuances, expungements, consolidation requests, petitions for limited driving privileges forms, as well as blank subpoenas.
All filings must include the case number and the defendant's name.
Traffic and Criminal Arraignment court sessions are held Monday through Friday at 9:00 a.m. in the Municipal Court Building. A courtroom services deputy clerk is scheduled in each arraignment courtroom to process the necessary paperwork and to answer any questions.
If a defendant is requesting an extension of fines and costs on an unassigned traffic case, a ONE TIME 60 day continuance will be processed by the Clerk upon filing of a request. The request must be filed on or before the due date. All requests will be reviewed/approved by the Magistrates. There are no add on same day add-ons for environmental court. You must post the bond on these type of cases.
The Criminal/Traffic Department cannot reschedule or continue any type of court hearing over the telephone at any time.
The Criminal/Traffic Department accepts not guilty pleas in absentia from defense attorneys with verifiable Supreme Court registration numbers and who have obtained the consent of the prosecutor. A two-part form is available for attorneys requesting this type of plea. Also provided are forms for a Trial by Jury request or a Trial by Judge request. A New Counsel form is also available. In the event the prosecutor or judge refuses to accept a not guilty plea in absentia, the Clerk's Office will send notice to the defendant, along with a new arraignment date. Pursuant to local court rules, a not guilty plea in absentia signed solely by the defendant is not to be accepted.
Once the not guilty plea has been accepted, the case file is sent to the Assignment Office for selection of the trial judge and the assignment of a court date. Normally, a judge will be assigned to the case within one business day.
Fees for the Criminal, Traffic, and Environmental Departments are established by Local Rule 13, Schedule 9. Please refer to the local court rules for information on fees and costs.
Cashiers are located on the second floor in the Criminal/Traffic Division to accept payment Monday through Sunday 8:00 AM to 11:30 PM, every day of the year. For payment of fines and costs on a criminal or traffic case, probation fees, and driving privilege fees, payment may be made by money order, Discover, MasterCard, VISA, attorney check, company check, or cash. Payment for bail may be made by cash, Discover, MasterCard, or VISA only. Time payments and expungements may be paid by cash, money order, Discover, MasterCard, or VISA. No payments may be made after the hours listed below unless you are posting bond. If you are posting bond then you can post with the office 24 hours a day.
An enforcement docket is prepared Monday through Friday for all defendants who owe a fine or court costs, or must post a Bond Forfeiture by an enforcement date ordered by the sentencing judge. When the defendant fails to pay by the enforcement date, the Clerk's Office takes the court file to the sentencing judge for a ruling.
An enforcement docket is prepared each day of the week for all defendants who have been sentenced to serve time in jail commencing on a specific date. If the defendant fails to appear at the jail on that date, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office notifies the Clerk's Office. The court file is then taken to the sentencing judge for an entry.
The Criminal/Traffic Department accepts payment for the posting of bail for a Municipal Court prisoner twenty-four hours a day. Payments must be made by cash, Discover, MasterCard, or VISA only. Once bail is posted, the jail is sent a release form. The timeframe for the physical release of the prisoner can be obtained by contacting the Franklin County Sheriff's Office at (614) 525-3368, twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year.
Bond on felony and domestic violence cases is set in arraignment court beginning at 9:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday excluding holidays. Defendants arrested after 11:00 p.m. on Friday night will be arraigned at the next scheduled court session.
Attorneys who need to request to talk to the scheduled arraignment court judge to set bond earlier than the scheduled arraignment session may contact the Clerk's Office at (614) 645-8449 to obtain the cell phone number for the Judge on call.
Refund of bail money that has been posted in the Criminal/Traffic Department is processed by accounting clerks on the second floor. All bail money posted on a case will be refunded to the depositor after the return of verdict or judgment by a jury or by the court on the issue of guilt or innocence, unless a trial judge directs otherwise. The depositor is the only person who can receive the refund. Bail refunds are mailed to the depositor unless accounting clerks are presented with a judges entry directing them to refund the money to the depositor in person. The bail refund department can be reached at (614) 645-6903 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Accounting clerks also process bail money that has been authorized by the depositor to be applied to fines and costs. All appropriate paperwork must first be completed by a deputy clerk in the Criminal/Traffic Division.
All bail money that is posted in our court and then authorized by a judge to be transferred to another court is processed by accounting clerks in the Criminal/Traffic Department. In addition, accounting clerks process bail money that is posted in our court and then bound over to the Court of Common Pleas.
State law mandates the immobilization or criminal forfeiture of a vehicle operated by a defendant convicted of certain offenses. Vehicles are immobilized by a steering wheel locking device. The vehicle immobilization coordinator works with vehicle owners, attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to make sure the court's orders are enforced.
Applications to seal or expunge a court record are available on this website. Record checks can be obtained through the Franklin County Sheriff's Department at 370 Front Street in Columbus.
A $50 non-refundable filing fee must be paid at the time the application to seal or expunge conviction(s) or bail forfeiture(s) is filed. There is no filing fee for an application to seal or expunge dismissed case(s) or case(s) where you have been found not guilty.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to determine whether he or she is eligible to have the court record sealed or expunged prior to submitting the application and filing fee. Should the Court determine that the applicant is not eligible to have the court record sealed or expunged, the Court generally does not refund the filing fee.
Applicants not represented by counsel are referred to the Self Help Resource Center on the sixteenth floor of the courthouse. The Center is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 2:30 PM and offers free assistance.
For further information regarding the process to seal or expunge a court record in the Franklin County Municipal Court, contact (614) 645-1706, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., excluding holidays.
The Criminal/Traffic Department is responsible for processing and reporting records to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The Clerk's Office forwards driver licenses for defendants whose licenses have been suspended by the court. The division researches and processes appropriate point assessments by sending records to the BMV. Another duty of the division is to prepare and forward driver license suspensions and reinstatement forms, as well as modifying orders and judgment entries.
Limited driving privileges are kept with each applicable case and a certified copy can be obtained upon request. Petitions for limited driving privileges during an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) can be filed with the Clerk, along with a $20 filing fee. Driving record abstracts cannot be given out by the Clerk's Office but can be secured by contacting the BMV. The BMV can be reached at (614) 752-7500.
Though all records housed in the Criminal/Traffic Division are public records, the procedures involved with accessing the records vary depending upon the request. The Clerk's Office cannot "run record checks" or research all cases involving a defendant by telephone request. Current warrant information can be given to an attorney with a verifiable Supreme Court registration number. It is requested that any type of search that would involve several hours of time be made by mail or submitted to a supervisor, who will be able to set a time frame for conducting the search.
Court dates and times of pending cases can be easily determined with the proper case number by calling (614) 645-8186.
Case files can be withdrawn from the Clerk's Office by an attorney and taken to a judge or various court departments in the building. A completed "withdrawal card" must be given to a deputy clerk, which will then be given to the attorney when the file is returned to the Clerk's Office. Case files must never leave the Municipal Court Building.
The Clerk's Office has also provided access to information within our Case Management System on the Internet, via this website. Simply Click on the link titled "Search Cases" located on the top menu and utilize the online search functions.