Municipal Court Judge

Municipal courts are courts of record created by the General Assembly pursuant to Article IV Section 6 of the Ohio Constitution and Sections 1901.01 and 1901.02 of the Revised Code. Funded by both the city and county, the Napoleon Municipal Court is operated by the city and has countywide jurisdiction.

Within every municipal court is a small claims division that has limited civil jurisdiction for recovery of money only in cases other than libel, slander, replevin, alienation of affections, malicious prosecution, abuse of process actions, and actions for punitive damages. The small claims division's jurisdiction is also limited to amounts not exceeding $3000 exclusive of interest and costs.

Original Jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction for municipal courts includes the following:

  1. Tort and other civil actions and proceedings that do not exceed $15,000
  2. Recovery of money or personal property where the court of common pleas has jurisdiction
  3. Any action based on contract, the court may hear and determine all legal and equitable remedies necessary for a complete determination of parties' rights
  4. Any action or proceeding involving the sale of personal property under a chattel mortgage, lien, encumbrance or other charges, foreclosure and marshaling of liens and personal judgment on the action
  5. Enforce collections of its own judgments or those of other courts
  6. Replevin
  7. Forcible entry and detainer (eviction)
  8. Misdemeanor violations under the Ohio Revised Code
  9. Municipal ordinance violations (except non-criminal parking violations handled by parking violations bureau.

Limited Jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction is granted to municipal courts for the following criminal actions and proceedings:

  1. Conduct of preliminary hearings and other necessary hearings prior to a felony defendant's indictment and determination of reasonable cause to compel the defendant's appearance before a court of common pleas (ORC 1901.20 and 2931.04).

Additional Information

Find more information on the Municipal Court website.