Section 1907.13 | Qualifications of county court judges.
(A) A county court judge, at the time of filing a nominating petition for the office or at the time of appointment to the office and during the judge's term of office, shall be a qualified elector and a resident of the county court district in which the judge is elected or appointed. A county court judge does not have to be a resident of an area of separate jurisdiction in the county court district to which the judge may be assigned pursuant to section 1907.15 of the Revised Code. Every county court judge shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for at least one year preceding the judge's appointment or the commencement of the judge's term and, except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, for a total of at least six years preceding the judge's appointment or the commencement of the judge's term, shall have done any of the following:
(1) Engaged in the practice of law in this state;
(2) Practiced in a federal court in this state, regardless of whether at the time of that practice the person was admitted to the practice of law in this state or practiced in the courts of this state;
(3) Engaged in the authorized practice of law as in-house counsel for a business in this state or as an attorney for a government entity in this state, regardless of whether at the time of that practice the person was admitted to the practice of law in this state or practiced in the courts of this state.
(B) The six-year practice requirement specified in division (A) of this section does not apply to a county court judge who is holding office on September 10, 2012, and who subsequently is a candidate for that office.
(C) Judges of a county court shall be elected by the electors of the county court district at the general election in even-numbered years as set forth in section 1907.11 of the Revised Code for a term of six years commencing on the first day of January following the election for the county court or on the dates specified in section 1907.11 of the Revised Code for particular county court judges. Their successors shall be elected in even-numbered years every six years.
All candidates for county court judge shall be nominated by petition. The nominating petition shall be in the general form and signed and verified as prescribed by section 3513.261 of the Revised Code and shall be signed by the lesser of fifty qualified electors of the county court district or a number of qualified electors of the county court district not less than one per cent of the number of electors who voted for governor at the most recent regular state election in the district. A nominating petition shall not be accepted for filing or filed if it appears on its face to contain signatures aggregating in number more than twice the minimum aggregate number of signatures required by this section. A nominating petition shall be filed with the board of elections not later than four p.m. of the ninetieth day before the day of the general election.
Last updated March 3, 2023 at 2:06 PM
Available Versions of this Section
- September 10, 2012 – House Bill 487 - 129th General Assembly [ View September 10, 2012 Version ]
- April 3, 2023 – Amended by Senate Bill 202 - 134th General Assembly [ View April 3, 2023 Version ]