Tekulve, 042221 OHAGO, 2021-008

Case DateApril 22, 2021
CourtOhio
The Honorable Mark J. Tekulve
No. 2021-008
Ohio Attorney General Opinion
Ohio Attorney General
April 22, 2021
         SYLLABUS:          The clerk of a county municipal court is not required to accept possession and control of records of mayor’s courts relating to inactive cases of a village upon the dissolution of that village.          The Honorable Mark J. Tekulve          Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney          101 Main Street, 2nd Floor          Batavia, Ohio 45103          Dear Prosecutor Tekulve:          You requested an opinion from my office regarding whether a county municipal court is required to accept certain records. I have framed your question in the following manner:
Is the clerk of a county municipal court required to accept possession and control of records of mayor’s courts relating to inactive cases of a village upon the dissolution of that village?
         You report that the voters of two villages in Clermont County, pursuant to R.C. 703.20, voted to dissolve their villages. Both villages operated mayor’s courts pursuant to Revised Code Chapter 1905. You have asked whether the Clermont County Municipal Court is required to accept possession and control of the records relating to inactive cases of the dissolved mayor’s courts.          I conclude that the answer is “no.”          I          Municipal courts, as creatures of statute, are limited to the powers granted to them by statute. State ex rel. Finley v. Miller, 128 Ohio St.442, 443, 191 N.E. 465, 466 (1934); 1980 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 80-073, at 2-291. Because the position of municipal court clerk is created by statute, R.C. 1901.31, the same principle applies: a clerk has only those powers assigned to her by statute. See, e.g., 1988 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 88-093, at 2-446 to 2-447; 1984 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 84-028, at 2-82 to 2-83.          There is no statute that requires a municipal court clerk to take any records from a mayor’s court when a village dissolves. No provision in the Revised Code chapter on records, the chapter on...

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