Clerk of Courts  

Responsibilities

The clerk of the municipal court shall have general powers to administer oaths take affidavits, and issue executions upon any judgment rendered in the municipal court, including a judgment for unpaid costs, power to issue and sign all writs, process subpoenas and papers issuing out of court and to attach the seal of the court thereto, and power to approve all bonds, sureties, recognizances, and undertakings fixed by any judge of the court or by law. The clerk shall file and safely keep all journals, records, books and papers belonging or appertaining to the court, record its proceedings, and perform all other duties which the judges of the court may prescribe and keep a book showing all receipts and disbursements, which shall be open for public inspection at all times.

Docket

The clerk shall prepare and maintain a general index, a docket, and such other records as the court, by rule, requires, all of which shall be the public records of the court. In such docket the clerk shall enter, at the time of the commencement of an action, the names of the parties in full, the names of counsel, and the nature of the proceedings. Under proper dates he shall note the filing of the petition and the issuance of summonses or other writs, returns, and pleadings subsequent thereto.

The clerk shall also enter all reports, verdicts, orders, judgments, and proceedings of the court clearly specifying the relief granted or orders made in action. The court may order an extended record of any of the above to be made and entered, under the proper action heading, upon such docket at the request of any part, to said cases, the expense of which may be taxed as costs in the case or may be required to be prepaid by the party demanding the same, upon order of the court.

Monies

The clerk of municipal court shall receive and collect all costs, fees, fines, penalties, bail, and other monies payable to the office or to any officer of the court and issue receipts therefore and shall each month disburse the same to the proper persons or officers and take receipts therefore, provided that fines received for violation of municipal ordinances shall be paid into the treasury of the municipal corporation whose ordinance was violated; and to the county treasurer all fines collected for the violation of state laws, subject to Sections 3375.50 and 3375.53 of the Revised Code.

Monies deposited as security for costs shall be retained pending the litigation. The clerk shall keep a separate account of all receipts and disbursements in civil and criminal cases, which shall be a permanent public record of the office, as required by the Bureau of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices, and on the expiration of his or her term, such records shall be delivered to the clerk's successor. The clerk shall have other powers and duties as are prescribed by rule or order of the court.

All monies paid into the municipal court shall be noted on the record of the case in which they are paid and shall be deposited in a state or national bank selected by the clerk.