Highland County
Highland County was established in 1805 from lands taken from Ross, Adams, and Clermont counties. The county is located in the State of Ohio and covers 553 square miles of land area. It has a population of about 43,000 residents, and the City of Hillsboro serves as its county seat.
Highland County's judicial system includes the Common Pleas Court, County Court, Municipal Court, and Mayor's Courts. The Common Pleas Court comprises the General and Domestic Relations and the Probate and Juvenile Divisions. Cases handled by the General and Domestic Relations Divisions involve felonies, civil actions, foreclosures, divorces, child custody and support, dissolution, and appeals from administrative agencies. On the other hand, the Juvenile Division hears matters involving minors, such as delinquency complaints and truancy, while the Probate Division handles wills, guardianships, adoptions, and estate settlements. The Highland County Court and Municipal Court handle preliminary hearings for felonies, traffic and non-traffic misdemeanors, small claims, and civil matters below $15,000. Lastly, the Mayor's Courts have jurisdiction over cases involving local ordinance violations and traffic offenses.
In Highland County, public court records like case filings and transcripts are generated during case proceedings at the county courthouses. Typically, these records are maintained by custodians, such as the Highland County Clerk of Courts. Physical copies of public court records are stored with the Clerk at the courthouse where the case was heard. Also, many records are available online via databases maintained by records custodians. In Highland County, public access to some court records is prohibited to protect the privacy of involved parties or to abide by state laws and court orders.
The types of public court records that are maintained by records custodians in Highland County include:
- Domestic Relations Court Records
- Civil Court Records
- Criminal Court Records
- Juvenile Court Records
- Probate Court Records
Interested persons may access cases heard by the Common Pleas Court in Highland County through the Clerk of Courts' record search portal. The Highland County Court also allows users to search for cases and access docket information through its online records database. Searches can be conducted by party name, hearing or filing date, case number, or case type. Additionally, Highland County Municipal Court records are readily available online.
