The Stow Municipal Court, located at 4400 Courthouse Drive in Stow, serves approximately 185,000 people in Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Hudson, Twinsburg, Twinsburg Township, Tallmadge, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Northfield Village, Northfield Center Township, Silver Lake, Reminderville, Peninsula, Boston Heights, Boston Township and Sagamore Hills. The court district’s population makes this municipal court the seventh largest in the state… and growing. We are larger than the Dayton, Youngstown and Mansfield Courts, for example.

Two Judges elected to six-year terms serve the Court. Judge Lisa Coates and Judge Kim Hoover are the current judges. Magistrates serve as employees of the Judges to handle matters assigned to them to efficiently handle the more than 30,000 cases before the Court annually. Currently one of these positions is filled by Magistrate John Clark.

The Court handles misdemeanor cases (felonies are “bound over” to the Summit County Grand Jury) and civil cases where $15,000 or less is in controversy. A Small Claims Court is also part of the Municipal Court’s function for quickly resolving matters involving claims of $3,000 or less.

The Judges oversee the other departments of the Court. The Community Control Office supervises probationers, the Bailiff’s Station helps implement the Judges’ orders, and the Case Management Office tracks and schedules all cases that come before the Court. The Administrative Office supervises the people and operations of the Court.

The Clerk of Courts Office is run by a separately elected official, Diana Colavecchio who is the keeper of the Court’s records and handles all monies that are paid in by the users of the Court (millions of dollars annually). The Clerk’s offices are across to the right of the main doors as you exit the security check point on the first floor.

I. Judges

The Judges are responsible for all aspects of the Court including the supervision of the employees and the adjudication of cases. Only the Judges can sentence defendants on the more serious criminal charges and only they can preside over jury trials. Unlike the other court employees, the Judges receive a paycheck each month from the State and the County in addition to their “local” pay. All other employees of the Court work for and at the direction of the Judges. Each year one Judge is designated as “Presiding” which comes with extra administrative duties. Generally the Judges rotate this position.

Judge Hoover has served the court since 1995, Judge Coates since 2003.

The Judges’ courtrooms, designated as the East and West Courts, are located on the Second Floor of the courthouse.

Judges’ Courtroom Bailiffs

The Courtroom Bailiffs work directly with their Judge both in the courtroom and in their private offices, called “chambers”.

The Bailiff fills out some of the sentencing paperwork for the Judge, and also delivers the files to the appropriate department. The Bailiff has the most immediate contact with the lawyers, police, defendants, and litigants and ensures the smooth operation of the Judge’s schedule known as the “docket”.

The Courtroom Bailiffs are the Judges closest assistants and work with the Court Secretary to make the Judges’ days efficient and pleasant. One of the Bailiffs handles scheduling for the staff as well as other management problems (Traci Cirullo) and another (Brian Smeenk) has a law degree, necessary to review routine legal pleadings for the Judges.


II. Court Magistrates

There are three Magistrates’ offices and hearing rooms located on the Second Level of the building. The one full-time Magistrate is John Clark.

The Magistrates are lawyers who are hired by the Judges to conduct traffic arraignments and hear pre-trials in serious traffic matters (such as Drunk Driving). They hear trials in traffic cases, handle administrative hearings and even more serious matters assigned by the Judges.

The Magistrates handle most of the civil cases and conduct eviction, garnishment, and other miscellaneous hearings. They are the Judges’ “right hands” and were selected for their excellent legal skills.


III. Court Administration

The Court Administrator’s office is located within the Bailiff's Office on the first floor of the building.

Various people among the court’s personnel are responsible for extra duties in seeing that the Court runs efficiently.

Special Project Director, Rick Klinger, oversees construction/remodeling as well as other duties assigned by the Judges, for example overseeing community service projects.

III. Community Control

The Community Control Offices are located on the first floor of the building. There are currently two full-time officers: Amy Anderson and Tony Frank. The Community Control Department is supervised by Kathy Keim.

Community Control Officers are what was formerly known as Probation Officers. They work with defendants who have been sentenced by the Judges and Magistrates. The Officers monitor the clients to make sure they are adhering to their court orders (AA, Anger Management counseling, Parenting classes, etc.).

Officers also conduct pre-sentence investigations (PSI’s) for the Judges and Magistrates to gather more information on the defendants and/or any victims. The Judges/Magistrates rely heavily on their opinions.

Victims’ rights are guarded by the Community Control Officers as they seek to minimize the impact of crime on their lives.

Community Control Officers are chosen for their understanding of human nature, their judgment, and their work ethic. Ms. Anderson is a former Victim’s Advocate with a degree in Family and Child Development. Mr. Frank is a former Chief of Police with a degree in Criminal Justice.

The Community Control Staffers are part of this office also.

The Community Control Staffers work closely with the Officers. Their daily duties include: processing new cases, answering the telephone and monitoring officers’ appointments, filing, handling mail, and maintaining computer information.

They process and make recommendations on expungement cases that go before the Judges.

Other duties include: processing new Community Control cases, scheduling clients’ appointments, sending delinquency letters, doing record checks for Pre-sentence investigations, and the monthly monitoring and follow-up on compliance by probationers with the court’s order.

These people must work quickly and develop a working relationship with all the local law enforcement agencies to exchange information.


V. Bailiff Station

The Bailiff Station is located on the Main Level of the building in front of the elevators. The Bailiff Station serves as an information desk for users of the court.

The Bailiff Station monitors most of the “alternative sentences” ordered by the Judges and Magistrates, generally programs designed to keep offenders out of the County Jail. They also determine eligibility for extensions on time to pay fines and costs, as well as documenting limited driving privileges for people who have had restrictions placed on their full privileges. If defendants fail to pay fines/costs as ordered, the bailiffs request warrants for their arrest.

Bailiffs serve in the Magistrates’ courtrooms to assist with the flow of cases, preparing sentencing paperwork and duties as assigned, like the Courtroom Bailiffs.

Generally one person is the “outside” bailiff who serves subpoenas, evictions, garnishments, and other court paperwork to people around the County. Much of their time is spent “outside” the courthouse driving to wherever these people might be found.

Another area of responsibility for the Station is overseeing the SLIP program (Suspended License Intervention Program) which takes place every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon in traffic court, in an effort to aid people in regaining a valid operator’s license and avoiding convictions for driving under suspension. These people have become experts in working with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.


VI. Case Management Office

The Case Management Office is located on the first floor of the building within the Bailiff Station. It currently employs three full-time workers.

The main responsibility of Case Management is the scheduling of hearings for the courtrooms (two Judges and three Magistrates). They assign court dates for defendants taking into account the availability of attorneys, police, witnesses, or others needed to resolve the case.

A computer program randomly assigns which Judge will hear each case and the Judges assign certain types of matters to the Magistrates. These people are experts with the Court’s computer system and work under mandates of the Ohio Supreme Court to make sure cases are completed quickly and efficiently. The work requires great attention to detail, computer skills, and the ability to deal with people who can, at times, be difficult.




VII. Court Secretary

The Court Secretary is located at the Second Floor Information Desk on the second floor of the building in front of the main elevators. There is one full-time secretary.

The secretary’s primary responsibilities include answering the telephone and typing for the Judges and Magistrates. The job is difficult to describe because one must be able to perform many functions simultaneously. Not only does the secretary greet and direct attorneys to the location of their hearings, she tracks the whereabouts of the court’s personnel, serves as the communications center, and finds ways to make the jobs of the Judges and other users of the Court more pleasant. Our secretary is known for her pleasing personality that calms others during their times of stress.


VIII. Security Desk

The Security Desk is at the entrance to the courthouse in the rear of the Stow Municipal Building. There are five part-time employees who are retired police officers with at least 20 years experience who protect us.

The primary concern of the security desk is the safety of all in the building. They screen each person entering the courthouse using a magnetometer and their police experience to ensure that no weapons pass by them. They will confiscate any other banned items such as illegal drugs and stay in contact with the other police officers in the building to maintain order.

They are the first and last people you will see during your visit to the Courthouse.
 

The Stow Municipal Court (330) 564-4200 · Fax (330) 564-4193 4400 Courthouse Drive Stow, Ohio 44224