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Clerk of Courts

 Special Note: Our holdings for the Licking Clerk of Courts Office are listed below, for more recent County Court records (1992-present) and/or to obtain a certified copy of any Clerk of Courts records please contact the Clerk of Courts. Their contact information can be found under the Agency contact page. (The Licking County Records & Archives Center does not have the power to certify records.)

A Brief History:

Ohio was the first state carved out of the Northwest Territory and admitted to the Union as the 17th state in 1803. To apply for statehood, the Ohio territory had to first draft and ratify a state constitution, which they did in 1802. The judicial system created by the 1802 constitution stipulated that a clerk of courts would be appointed by the judges of the court of common pleas for a 7 year term for each county. Licking County was founded in 1808, and was quick to establish their courts and supporting county offices in accordance with the 1802 constitution. After several years it became clear that Ohio had out grown the 1802 constitution, so a new constitutional convention was held and on June 17th 1851 voters ratified a new governing document. The 1851 constitution, which is still in effect, changed the clerk of courts to an elective position with a 3 year term. In 1936, the clerk of courts term was extend to 4 years.

Clerk of Courts Function:

The clerk of courts maintains the records of the court of common pleas and various courts which have exercised appellate jurisdiction on the county level in accordance with state laws regarding records retention. The records associated with the court of common pleas include all civil cases in which the amount or matter in dispute exceeds that statutory jurisdiction of county or municipal courts, and all criminal cases expect those misdemeanors which are vested by statute in an inferior court. Additionally, the clerk of courts records also include the various filing responsibilities it has acquired throughout its history.

Licking County Records & Archives Center Holdings:

Today the historical and necessary permanent records prior to 1992 associated with the Clerk of Courts are being maintained by the Licking County Records & Archives Center. For more recent County Court records (1992-present) and/or certified records please contact the Licking County Clerk of Courts' Office (Civil/Criminal Phone: 740-670-5791; Domestic Relations Phone: 740-670-5392; Newark Title Office Phone: 740-670-5447; Pataskala Title Office Phone: 740-670-7757; New Albany Title Office Phone: 740-670-5490).

How to Search Court Cases:

Court cases can provide a wealth of information about individual and criminal disputes as well as details about the lives and relationships of the people involved. Researching court cases can be difficult depending on how much information you have to start with, which is why it is generally best to start with the index books. The index books, also referred to as index volumes, will provide the case number and names of the individual or individuals involved in a given dispute. With the information from the index books, you will be able to more easily identify and locate the actual court files and related documents.

There are many ways to research court cases, so please feel free to contact the Licking County Records & Archives Center for additional assistance. Provided in the FQA & Research Tools page is a basic worksheet to assist you in gathering information regarding court cases as well as a list of common legal terms and their definitions.

 

Record Series

Years

Bills of Exception (“Courtroom Documents”)

1874-1949

Disposed (or Dismissed) Cases

1947-1965

Estrays

Various

Injunction Bond

Various

Justice of the Peace records

Various

Miscellaneous

1814-2012 (with gaps)
Naturalizations

1867-1965

Notary Records

1969-2003 (with gaps)

Paternity

1955-1992

Register

Various

Witness Books

1941-1987 (with gaps)

   

Bulk Record Series

 

Journals/Complete Records/Indexes       *See Table Below

1810-1992 (with gaps)

Criminal Court Records                           *See Table Below

1816-1992 (with gaps)

Dockets                                                     *See Table Below

1819-1994 (with gaps)

Civil Court Records                                  *See Table Below

1819-1992 (with gaps)

District Court Records                              *See Table Below

1852-1886

Circuit Court Records                               *See Table Below

1885-1927 (with gaps)

Court of Appeals Records                        *See Table Below

1913-1992 (with gaps)

Partitions                                                  *See Table Below

1811-1993 (with gaps)

 

Journals/Complete Records/Indexes

Record Series

Years

Civil/Criminal Journal books

Various

Common Pleas Journals

1813-1972

Complete Record

1810-1990 (with gaps)

Domestic Journal books

Various

Execution for Cost records

1953-1969

General Index

Various

Index to Complete Records

Various

Index to Docket books

1886-1992

Index to Pending Suits

1875-1992

Law Record

1811-1855 (with gaps)

 

Criminal Court Records

Record Series

Years

Criminal Appearance Dockets

1872-1992

Criminal Complete Records

1816-1980

Criminal Disposed Cases

Various

Criminal Dockets

1870-1949 (with gaps)

 

Dockets

Record Series

Years

Additional Page Dockets

1965-1992

Alimony Dockets

1918-1949

Appearance Dockets

Various

Chancery Dockets

1819-1924 (with gaps)

Court Dockets

1827-1982 (with gaps)

Execution and Lien Dockets

1822-1992 (with gaps)

Judgement Dockets

1819-1992

Jury Dockets

1952-1994 (with gaps)

Order of Sale Dockets

1889-1973

Registered Land Dockets

1914-1984 (with gaps)

Sheriff Returns Dockets

1884-1898

Subpoena Docket

1932-1940

 

Civil Court Records

Record Series

Years

Civil Appearance Dockets

1819-1992

Civil Dockets

1903-1986

Civil Domestic Journal Books

Various

 

District Court Records

Record Series

Years

District Court Appearance Dockets

1852-1885

District Court Complete Record

1872-1886

District Court Dockets

1871-1884

District Court Journals

1852-1885

District Court Law Record

1855-1872

 

Circuit Court Records

Record Series

Years

Circuit Court Appearance Dockets

1885-1927

Circuit Court Complete Records

1873-1913 (with gaps)

Circuit Court Dockets

1889-1912

Circuit Court Journals

1885-1907

 

Court of Appeals Records

Record Series

Years

Court of Appeals Dockets

1913-1992

Court of Appeals Journals

1915-1956

 

Partition Records

Record Series

Years

Index to Partition Records

1811-1975

Order of Sale Partition

1947-1989 (with gaps)

Partition Docket

1859-1862

Partition Records

1831-1993

Records of Cases in Partition

1816-1830


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