Ohio District Courts of Appeal

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The district courts of appeals are established by Article IV, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution, and their jurisdiction is outlined in Article IV, Section 3. As intermediate level appellate courts, their primary function is to hear appeals from the common pleas, municipal and county courts. Each case is heard and decided by a three-judge panel.

The state is divided into twelve appellate districts by Article IV, section 3 of the Ohio Constitution and section 2501.01 of the Revised Code. Each district is served by a court of appeals that sits in each of the counties in that district. The number of judges in each district depends on a variety of factors, including the court's caseload and the size of the district. The number of judges in each district varies from four to twelve.^[1]

Jurisdiction

In addition to their appellate jurisdiction, the courts of appeals have original jurisdiction, as does the Supreme Court, to hear applications for writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, procedendo, prohibition and quo warranto. The Tenth District Court of Appeals in Franklin County also hears appeals from the Ohio Court of Claims.

Judicial Districts

There are twelve judicial districts in Ohio, as represented in the map to the right.

District	Counties served
First District	Hamilton County
Second District	Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami and Montgomery Counties
Third District	Allen, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan, Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, Shelby, Union, Van Wert and Wyandot Counties
Fourth Distict	Adams, Athens, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington Counties
Fifth District	Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Guernsey, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Richland, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties
Sixth District	Erie, Fulton, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams, and Wood Counties
Seventh District	Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Mahoning, Monroe and Noble Counties
Eighth District	Cuyahoga County
Ninth District	Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne Counties
Tenth District	Franklin County
Eleventh District	Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull Counties
Twelfth District	Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Preble and Warren Counties

Judges

As of 2002, there are 68 court of appeals judges. Court of appeals judges are elected in even-numbered years to six-year terms on a nonpartisan ballot. Appellate judges must be attorneys with at least six years of experience in the practice of law. The Governor makes appointments to fill vacancies in courts of appeals that occur between elections.