Stark County
Stark County is located in the northeast area of Ohio. Its 579.04 square miles ranks it tenth among Ohio 88 counties for land area. Originally part of Columbiana County, Stark County was formed in 1808 and named for John Stark, an American Revolutionary War officer. Stark County is home to more than 374,000 residents and its county seat is Canton.
There are 3 types of courts in Stark County. These courts make up the trial court system of the county; six mayor's courts, three municipal courts, and 3 courts of common pleas.
The mayor courts preside over some criminal cases and quasi-criminal matters outside the jurisdiction of the municipal courts. Mayor's courts handle violations of municipal ordinances, criminal traffic cases, and some parking violations.
The municipal courts hear civil and criminal cases. Some of the criminal cases heard in the courts include traffic and non-traffic misdemeanors, felony preliminary hearings, violations of municipal ordinances, and some parking violations. Stark County municipal courts have exclusive jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount involved is less than $500 but also handle general civil claims where the amount involved does not exceed $15,000. The court also has a small claims division for the civil cases for the recovery of up to $3,000. Matters such as contract cases, replevin, temporary protection orders, interpleader, and forcible entry and detainer are heard in the municipal court.
The court of common pleas has general jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases but often only hears cases beyond the jurisdiction of the municipal and mayor's courts. The court has separate divisions for handling probate, juvenile, and domestic relations cases.
The clerk of courts in Stark County maintains court documents in the county. Members of the public are allowed to visit the address of the clerk to view and copy public court documents. The clerk makes court documents available in the following categories:
- Criminal cases
- Civil cases
- Traffic cases
- Small claims cases
- Family law cases
The Stark County Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) website allows the public to search its database to obtain case information from all of the clerks of court databases in the county. Users can view case information for criminal, traffic, and civil case types from the website. Probate case information can be obtained using the case search resource of the probate court website.
