Muskingum County Court Records in Ohio

Established in 1804, Muskingum County is a predominantly rural county in east-central Ohio; less than one percent of its 665 square miles consist of urban areas. The county's name is believed to have been derived from the Native American term “Moos-kin-gung,” meaning "a town on the side of the river” or the "Elk Eye River." The US Census Bureau estimated Muskingum County's population to be at 86,305 as of July 2023.

In Muskingum County, the trial court system comprises Common Pleas, County, Municipal, and Mayor's Courts. The Court of Common Pleas is further structured into a General Division, a Domestic Relations Court, a Probate Court, and a Juvenile Court. The General Division handles felony cases and civil actions over $15,000. The Domestic Relations Court handles cases involving termination of marriage, child custody, child support, paternity, civil protection orders, and stalking protection orders, while the Juvenile Court handles cases involving youth under the age of 18. These include traffic offenses involving juveniles, adult paternity cases, nonsupport, and criminal cases involving adults accused of misdemeanor child abuse or contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Probate Court handles a wide range of probate-related matters, such as issuing marriage licenses, administering estates, overseeing testamentary wills and trusts, name changes, adoption approvals, guardianships, and conservatorships.

The County Court handles misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic cases, civil cases up to $15,000, small claims up to $6,000, and eviction cases for all of Muskingum County except the City of Zanesville, where these matters are handled by its Municipal Court. Similarly, the Mayor's Courts hear and decide on local ordinance violations and traffic offenses within their respective cities.

Case files, court orders, affidavits, subpoenas, witness testimonies, trial transcripts, motions, judgments, verdicts, and any other documents that contain details of court proceedings in Muskingum County are generally referred to as court records. Muskingum County court clerks are tasked with maintaining these records and ensuring their accessibility to interested members of the public, per state requirements.

You can obtain official copies of Muskingum County public court records by contacting the appropriate court clerk's office. Keep in mind that fees may apply.

You can also access these court records online via the following platforms:

• The Muskingum County Common Pleas Clerk of Courts' Online Records System.
• The Muskingum County Court's CaseLook platform.
• The Zanesville Municipal Court's CaseLook portal.