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Court of Common Pleas
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Clerk of Common Pleas
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Creation of the Clerk's Office
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Filing Fees
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Duties of the Common Pleas Court
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Jursdiction Table - Table 1
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Jursdiction Table - Table 2
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History of The Court of Common Pleas
The Court of Common Pleas is
tracable to English antiquity. It is an offshoot of the ancient
"great universal" court known as the Aula Regis (King's Hall)
otherwise called Curia Regis (the King's Court) established by
William the Conqueror.
The king's great officers who resided in
the palace and attended his person composed the court. These
included the lord high constable, the lord high stewart, the lord
chamberlain, and the lord high treasurer. To these certain
justices learned in the law and the greater barons of parliament
were added. A chief justiciar, who was the prime minister,
presided. This court attended the person of the king wherever he
might be. During the latter years of the 12th century the Common
Pleas was created, and consisted of one chief justice and four
puisne (associate) justices, its jurisdiction being confined
altogether to civil matters (common pleas), having no cognizance
of criminal matters (pleas of the crown).
One of the concessions of the Magna Carta
was that the common pleas should no longer follow the person of
the king but should be established in some certain place, that
place being later agreed upon as Westminster Hall, where it was
referred to as the Court of Common Pleas or Common Bench.
The Clerk of Common Pleas The office of the Clerk of Courts of
Common Pleas traces its beginnings to the medieval cleric. They
maintained the records, were responsible for correspondence and
had various powers to issue writs or other processes ordered by
the court. The cleric was generally one of the few educated
persons in the community.
Thus, established, this office
originating before the time of Edward II, was brought to this
continent, and adopted as an office of government during the
colonial period. The American Revolution made no radical changes
in the political heritage derived from England, the office was
continued by the states because of the separation of the
administrative and judicial functions of government.
The court of common pleas was the first
to be organized under the ordinance of 1787. When the Governor
and judges of the Northwest Territory in 1788 were confronted
with the task of establishing civil courts in Washington County,
Ohio, they looked to the established pattern of the court system
of England and to its prototypes in the states of the new Union.
The law established: "A number of
suitable persons, not exceeding five, nor less than three shall
be appointed in each county, and commissioned by the Governor
under the seal of the Territory to hold and keep a court of
record, to be styled the County Court of Common Pleas." The
jurisdiction covered "all manner of pleas, actions, suits and
causes of a civil nature, real, personal and mixed according to
the constitution and laws of the territory." Further, it
provided that the judges might determine demands upon bond, bill,
note, book account or assumpsit where the amount did not exceed
five dollars.
Thus, from the very beginning the English
system was broadened so there was no matter too trivial to be the
objects of exclusion, nor any controversy so important or far
reaching as to be "exempt from its power." Though there were
different courts for civil and criminal suits, one judge was the
head of each of the courts in Washington County. The first known
clerk of all these courts was Return Johnathan Meigs, later to
become Governor of the State of Ohio.
In 1790, Hamilton County was created and
Israel Ludlow was named clerk of courts. In 1798, Ross County
was established and Edward Tiffin, Ohio's first Governor, was
appointed clerk. And, so were the same methods pursued in each
of the other seven counties created prior to the Constitution of
1802.
Another prominent Ohioan to serve as a
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas was William Henry Harrison,
who was a Clerk of Courts when he was elected ninth President of
the United States.
An aside, is the interesting fact that
the first five judges appointed by the legislature were Rufus
Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Archibald Crary, Isaac Pierce and Thomas
Lord, not one of who had any legal training. They were each
commissioned as a justice of the peace and therefore qualified to
sit in the Court of General Quarter Sessions in the hearing of
criminal causes, as they in fact did. The framers of the first
constitution gave the legislative branch the predominance, and to
render the executive and judicial branches subordinate and
subservient. In carrying out that policy, the vast majority of
the associate judges were at first selected from the ranks of the
laymen. While it was planned to have the President Judge to
preside at all general sessions of the court, the three associate
judges could hold court at the stated times in his absence.
Creation of the Ohio Clerk of Courts Office Article III of the Constitution of 1802
provided that the judicial power of the State should be vested in
the Supreme Court, courts of Common Pleas, justices of the peace,
and such other courts as the Legislature might establish. At
this time it was vested with common law and criminal
jurisdiction, because the Court of General Quarter Sessions was
abolished. Judges were appointed by the legislature, and they in
turn appointed their Clerks of Courts, usually for seven years.
Under the Constitution of 1851 the office of clerk became an
elective office with a term of three years. In the year 1936,
the term of the Clerk was extended to four years.
In Wood County the Court of Common Pleas
had four judges -- a president judge, and three associates, all
appointed by the Legislature. George Tod, father of the Governor
David Tod, was president judge at the first court, and his
associates were Samuel Vance, Horatio Conant, and Peter G.
Oliver. David Hull was the first sheriff who rapped on the table
to open the Common Pleas court. The first official act was to
appoint Thomas R. McKnight, Clerk. Then C. J. McCurdy was
appointed prosecutor for the State.
Filing Fees Fees of the judge, clerk and sheriff were
fixed by statue. The act of 1792 fixed the fees at rediculously
small sums. There was a distinction made between "small causes"
and "actions," the latter fees were substantially larger. The
fee law of 1795 generally reduced fees and did away with the
class distinction. In 1798 the fees of the clerk and sheriff
were materially increased.
Duties of the Common Pleas Court
The duties of the Common Pleas Court then
(1802) might be some different than today. All probate work,
including appointment of guardians, granting administration,
recording wills, taking bonds, etc rested with the court. The
court granted all licenses. Every business was required to have a paid license, such as
taverns, stores, ferries, bridges, and warehouses.
Before Wood County was established by law as Wood County - Time Table of Jurisdiction that Neighbors were
part of Wood County |
Wood County Clerk of Courts Office
Courthouse, Second Floor
1 Courthouse Square
Bowling Green, OH 43402
Phone: (419) 354-9280
Fax: (419) 354-9241