Am. S. B. No. 128 As Reported by the Committee of Conference

Senators Cates, Wilson, Niehaus, Grendell
Representatives Willamowski, Coley, Barrett, Boccieri, Book, Combs, Dolan, Domenick, C. Evans, D. Evans, Harwood, McGregor, Mitchell, Otterman, Schneider, Seaver, Seitz, G. Smith, Wagoner, Webster, DeBose

A BILL

To amend sections 2101.01, 2301.02, and 2301.03 of 1
the Revised Code to add one additional judge for 2
the general division of the Butler County Court of 3
Common Pleas to be elected in 2006, to give the 4
judges of the Domestic Relations Division of the 5
Lorain County Court of Common Pleas jurisdiction 6
over probate matters, to designate the successors 7
to the Lorain County probate judge as judges of 8
the Domestic Relations Division of the Lorain 9
County Court of Common Pleas, to create an 10
additional General Division judgeship for the 11
Lorain County Court of Common Pleas to be filled 12
initially at the 2006 general election, and to 13
create an additional judgeship for the Morrow 14
County Court of Common Pleas to be filled 15
initially at the 2006 general election. 16

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 2101.01, 2301.02, and 2301.03 of the 17
Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 18

       Sec. 2101.01. (A) A probate division of the court of common 19
pleas shall be held at the county seat in each county in an office 20
furnished by the board of county commissioners, in which the 21
books, records, and papers pertaining to the probate division 22
shall be deposited and safely kept by the probate judge. The board 23
shall provide suitable cases or other necessary items for the 24
safekeeping and preservation of the books, records, and papers of 25
the court and shall furnish any blankbooks, blanks, and 26
stationery, and any machines, equipment, and materials for the 27
keeping or examining of records, that the probate judge requires 28
in the discharge of official duties. The board also shall 29
authorize expenditures for accountants, financial consultants, and 30
other agents required for auditing or financial consulting by the 31
probate division whenever the probate judge considers these 32
services and expenditures necessary for the efficient performance 33
of the division's duties. The probate judge shall employ and 34
supervise all clerks, deputies, magistrates, and other employees 35
of the probate division. The probate judge shall supervise all 36
probate court investigators and assessors in the performance of 37
their duties as investigators and assessors and shall employ, 38
appoint, or designate all probate court investigators and 39
assessors in the manner described in divisions (A)(2) and (3) of 40
section 2101.11 of the Revised Code. 41

       (B) As used in the Revised Code,: 42

       (1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, 43
"probate court" means the probate division of the court of common 44
pleas, and "probate judge" means the judge of the court of common 45
pleas who is judge of the probate division. ~~All~~ 46

       (2) With respect to Lorain county: 47

       (a) From January 1, 2006, through February 8, 2009, "probate 48
court" means both the probate division and the domestic relations 49
division of the court of common pleas, and "probate judge" means 50
both the judge of the court of common pleas who is judge of the 51
probate division and each of the judges of the court of common 52
pleas who are judges of the domestic relations division. 53

       (b) On and after February 9, 2009, "probate court" means the 54
domestic relations division of the court of common pleas, and 55
"probate judge" means each of the judges of the court of common 56
pleas who are judges of the domestic relations division. 57

       (C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, all 58
pleadings, forms, journals, and other records filed or used in the 59
probate division shall be entitled "In the Court of Common Pleas, 60
Probate Division," but are not defective if entitled "In the 61
Probate Court." In Lorain county, on and after February 9, 2009, 62
all pleadings, forms, journals, and other records filed or used in 63
probate matters shall be entitled "In the Court of Common Pleas, 64
Domestic Relations Division," but are not defective if entitled 65
"In the Probate Division" or "In the Probate Court." 66

       Sec. 2301.02. The number of judges of the court of common 67
pleas for each county, the time for the next election of the 68
judges in the several counties, and the beginning of their terms 69
shall be as follows: 70

       (A) In Adams, Ashland, Fayette, and Pike counties, one judge, 71
elected in 1956, term to begin February 9, 1957; 72

       In Brown, Crawford, Defiance, Highland, Holmes, Morgan, 73
Ottawa, and Union counties, one judge, to be elected in 1954, term 74
to begin February 9, 1955; 75

       In Auglaize county, one judge, to be elected in 1956, term to 76
begin January 9, 1957; 77

       In Coshocton, Darke, Fulton, Gallia, Guernsey, Hardin, 78
Jackson, Knox, Madison, Mercer, Monroe, ~~Morrow,~~ Paulding, Vinton, 79
and Wyandot counties, one judge, to be elected in 1956, term to 80
begin January 1, 1957; 81

       In Morrow county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 82
to begin January 1, 1957, and one to be elected in 2006, term to 83
begin January 1, 2007; 84

       In Logan county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 85
to begin January 1, 1957, and one to be elected in 2004, term to 86
begin January 2, 2005; 87

       In Carroll, Champaign, Clinton, Hocking, Meigs, Pickaway, 88
Preble, Shelby, Van Wert, and Williams counties, one judge, to be 89
elected in 1952, term to begin January 1, 1953; 90

       In Harrison and Noble counties, one judge, to be elected in 91
1954, term to begin April 18, 1955; 92

       In Henry county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 93
to begin May 9, 1957, and one to be elected in 2004, term to begin 94
January 1, 2005; 95

       In Putnam county, one judge, to be elected in 1956, term to 96
begin May 9, 1957; 97

       In Huron county, one judge, to be elected in 1952, term to 98
begin May 14, 1953; 99

       In Perry county, one judge, to be elected in 1954, term to 100
begin July 6, 1956; 101

       In Sandusky county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954, 102
term to begin February 10, 1955, and one to be elected in 1978, 103
term to begin January 1, 1979; 104

       (B) In Allen county, three judges, one to be elected in 1956, 105
term to begin February 9, 1957, the second to be elected in 1958, 106
term to begin January 1, 1959, and the third to be elected in 107
1992, term to begin January 1, 1993; 108

       In Ashtabula county, three judges, one to be elected in 1954, 109
term to begin February 9, 1955, one to be elected in 1960, term to 110
begin January 1, 1961, and one to be elected in 1978, term to 111
begin January 2, 1979; 112

       In Athens county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954, term 113
to begin February 9, 1955, and one to be elected in 1990, term to 114
begin July 1, 1991; 115

       In Erie county, four judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 116
to begin January 1, 1957, the second to be elected in 1970, term 117
to begin January 2, 1971, the third to be elected in 2004, term to 118
begin January 2, 2005, and the fourth to be elected in 2008, term 119
to begin February 9, 2009; 120

       In Fairfield county, three judges, one to be elected in 1954, 121
term to begin February 9, 1955, the second to be elected in 1970, 122
term to begin January 1, 1971, and the third to be elected in 123
1994, term to begin January 2, 1995; 124

       In Geauga county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 125
to begin January 1, 1957, and the second to be elected in 1976, 126
term to begin January 6, 1977; 127

       In Greene county, four judges, one to be elected in 1956, 128
term to begin February 9, 1957, the second to be elected in 1960, 129
term to begin January 1, 1961, the third to be elected in 1978, 130
term to begin January 2, 1979, and the fourth to be elected in 131
1994, term to begin January 1, 1995; 132

       In Hancock county, two judges, one to be elected in 1952, 133
term to begin January 1, 1953, and the second to be elected in 134
1978, term to begin January 1, 1979; 135

       In Lawrence county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954, 136
term to begin February 9, 1955, and the second to be elected in 137
1976, term to begin January 1, 1977; 138

       In Marion county, three judges, one to be elected in 1952, 139
term to begin January 1, 1953, the second to be elected in 1976, 140
term to begin January 2, 1977, and the third to be elected in 141
1998, term to begin February 9, 1999; 142

       In Medina county, three judges, one to be elected in 1956, 143
term to begin January 1, 1957, the second to be elected in 1966, 144
term to begin January 1, 1967, and the third to be elected in 145
1994, term to begin January 1, 1995; 146

       In Miami county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954, term 147
to begin February 9, 1955, and one to be elected in 1970, term to 148
begin on January 1, 1971; 149

       In Muskingum county, three judges, one to be elected in 1968, 150
term to begin August 9, 1969, one to be elected in 1978, term to 151
begin January 1, 1979, and one to be elected in 2002, term to 152
begin January 2, 2003; 153

       In Portage county, three judges, one to be elected in 1956, 154
term to begin January 1, 1957, the second to be elected in 1960, 155
term to begin January 1, 1961, and the third to be elected in 156
1986, term to begin January 2, 1987; 157

       In Ross county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 158
to begin February 9, 1957, and the second to be elected in 1976, 159
term to begin January 1, 1977; 160

       In Scioto county, three judges, one to be elected in 1954, 161
term to begin February 10, 1955, the second to be elected in 1960, 162
term to begin January 1, 1961, and the third to be elected in 163
1994, term to begin January 2, 1995; 164

       In Seneca county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 165
to begin January 1, 1957, and the second to be elected in 1986, 166
term to begin January 2, 1987; 167

       In Warren county, four judges, one to be elected in 1954, 168
term to begin February 9, 1955, the second to be elected in 1970, 169
term to begin January 1, 1971, the third to be elected in 1986, 170
term to begin January 1, 1987, and the fourth to be elected in 171
2004, term to begin January 2, 2005; 172

       In Washington county, two judges, one to be elected in 1952, 173
term to begin January 1, 1953, and one to be elected in 1986, term 174
to begin January 1, 1987; 175

       In Wood county, three judges, one to be elected in 1968, term 176
beginning January 1, 1969, the second to be elected in 1970, term 177
to begin January 2, 1971, and the third to be elected in 1990, 178
term to begin January 1, 1991; 179

       In Belmont and Jefferson counties, two judges, to be elected 180
in 1954, terms to begin January 1, 1955, and February 9, 1955, 181
respectively; 182

       In Clark county, four judges, one to be elected in 1952, term 183
to begin January 1, 1953, the second to be elected in 1956, term 184
to begin January 2, 1957, the third to be elected in 1986, term to 185
begin January 3, 1987, and the fourth to be elected in 1994, term 186
to begin January 2, 1995. 187

       In Clermont county, five judges, one to be elected in 1956, 188
term to begin January 1, 1957, the second to be elected in 1964, 189
term to begin January 1, 1965, the third to be elected in 1982, 190
term to begin January 2, 1983, the fourth to be elected in 1986, 191
term to begin January 2, 1987; and the fifth to be elected in 192
2006, term to begin January 3, 2007; 193

       In Columbiana county, two judges, one to be elected in 1952, 194
term to begin January 1, 1953, and the second to be elected in 195
1956, term to begin January 1, 1957; 196

       In Delaware county, two judges, one to be elected in 1990, 197
term to begin February 9, 1991, the second to be elected in 1994, 198
term to begin January 1, 1995; 199

       In Lake county, six judges, one to be elected in 1958, term 200
to begin January 1, 1959, the second to be elected in 1960, term 201
to begin January 2, 1961, the third to be elected in 1964, term to 202
begin January 3, 1965, the fourth and fifth to be elected in 1978, 203
terms to begin January 4, 1979, and January 5, 1979, respectively, 204
and the sixth to be elected in 2000, term to begin January 6, 205
2001; 206

       In Licking county, four judges, one to be elected in 1954, 207
term to begin February 9, 1955, one to be elected in 1964, term to 208
begin January 1, 1965, one to be elected in 1990, term to begin 209
January 1, 1991, and one to be elected in 2004, term to begin 210
January 1, 2005; 211

       In Lorain county, ~~eight~~ten judges, two to be elected in 212
1952, terms to begin January 1, 1953, and January 2, 1953, 213
respectively, one to be elected in 1958, term to begin January 3, 214
1959, one to be elected in 1968, term to begin January 1, 1969, 215
two to be elected in 1988, terms to begin January 4, 1989, and 216
January 5, 1989, respectively, ~~and~~ two to be elected in 1998, 217
terms to begin January 2, 1999, and January 3, 1999, respectively; 218
one to be elected in 2006, term to begin January 6, 2007; and one 219
to be elected in 2008, term to begin February 9, 2009, as 220
described in division (C)(1)(c) of section 2301.03 of the Revised 221
Code; 222

       In Butler county, ~~ten~~eleven judges, one to be elected in 223
1956, term to begin January 1, 1957; two to be elected in 1954, 224
terms to begin January 1, 1955, and February 9, 1955, 225
respectively; one to be elected in 1968, term to begin January 2, 226
1969; one to be elected in 1986, term to begin January 3, 1987; 227
two to be elected in 1988, terms to begin January 1, 1989, and 228
January 2, 1989, respectively; one to be elected in 1992, term to 229
begin January 4, 1993; ~~and~~ two to be elected in 2002, terms to 230
begin January 2, 2003, and January 3, 2003, respectively; and one 231
to be elected in 2006, term to begin January 3, 2007; 232

       In Richland county, four judges, one to be elected in 1956, 233
term to begin January 1, 1957, the second to be elected in 1960, 234
term to begin February 9, 1961, the third to be elected in 1968, 235
term to begin January 2, 1969, and the fourth to be elected in 236
2004, term to begin January 3, 2005; 237

       In Tuscarawas county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, 238
term to begin January 1, 1957, and the second to be elected in 239
1960, term to begin January 2, 1961; 240

       In Wayne county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term 241
beginning January 1, 1957, and one to be elected in 1968, term to 242
begin January 2, 1969; 243

       In Trumbull county, six judges, one to be elected in 1952, 244
term to begin January 1, 1953, the second to be elected in 1954, 245
term to begin January 1, 1955, the third to be elected in 1956, 246
term to begin January 1, 1957, the fourth to be elected in 1964, 247
term to begin January 1, 1965, the fifth to be elected in 1976, 248
term to begin January 2, 1977, and the sixth to be elected in 249
1994, term to begin January 3, 1995; 250

       (C) In Cuyahoga county, thirty-nine judges; eight to be 251
elected in 1954, terms to begin on successive days beginning from 252
January 1, 1955, to January 7, 1955, and February 9, 1955, 253
respectively; eight to be elected in 1956, terms to begin on 254
successive days beginning from January 1, 1957, to January 8, 255
1957; three to be elected in 1952, terms to begin from January 1, 256
1953, to January 3, 1953; two to be elected in 1960, terms to 257
begin on January 8, 1961, and January 9, 1961, respectively; two 258
to be elected in 1964, terms to begin January 4, 1965, and January 259
5, 1965, respectively; one to be elected in 1966, term to begin on 260
January 10, 1967; four to be elected in 1968, terms to begin on 261
successive days beginning from January 9, 1969, to January 12, 262
1969; two to be elected in 1974, terms to begin on January 18, 263
1975, and January 19, 1975, respectively; five to be elected in 264
1976, terms to begin on successive days beginning January 6, 1977, 265
to January 10, 1977; two to be elected in 1982, terms to begin 266
January 11, 1983, and January 12, 1983, respectively; and two to 267
be elected in 1986, terms to begin January 13, 1987, and January 268
14, 1987, respectively; 269

       In Franklin county, twenty-two judges; two to be elected in 270
1954, terms to begin January 1, 1955, and February 9, 1955, 271
respectively; four to be elected in 1956, terms to begin January 272
1, 1957, to January 4, 1957; four to be elected in 1958, terms to 273
begin January 1, 1959, to January 4, 1959; three to be elected in 274
1968, terms to begin January 5, 1969, to January 7, 1969; three to 275
be elected in 1976, terms to begin on successive days beginning 276
January 5, 1977, to January 7, 1977; one to be elected in 1982, 277
term to begin January 8, 1983; one to be elected in 1986, term to 278
begin January 9, 1987; two to be elected in 1990, terms to begin 279
July 1, 1991, and July 2, 1991, respectively; one to be elected in 280
1996, term to begin January 2, 1997; and one to be elected in 281
2004, term to begin July 1, 2005; 282

       In Hamilton county, twenty-one judges; eight to be elected in 283
1966, terms to begin January 1, 1967, January 2, 1967, and from 284
February 9, 1967, to February 14, 1967, respectively; five to be 285
elected in 1956, terms to begin from January 1, 1957, to January 286
5, 1957; one to be elected in 1964, term to begin January 1, 1965; 287
one to be elected in 1974, term to begin January 15, 1975; one to 288
be elected in 1980, term to begin January 16, 1981; two to be 289
elected at large in the general election in 1982, terms to begin 290
April 1, 1983; one to be elected in 1990, term to begin July 1, 291
1991; and two to be elected in 1996, terms to begin January 3, 292
1997, and January 4, 1997, respectively; 293

       In Lucas county, fourteen judges; two to be elected in 1954, 294
terms to begin January 1, 1955, and February 9, 1955, 295
respectively; two to be elected in 1956, terms to begin January 1, 296
1957, and October 29, 1957, respectively; two to be elected in 297
1952, terms to begin January 1, 1953, and January 2, 1953, 298
respectively; one to be elected in 1964, term to begin January 3, 299
1965; one to be elected in 1968, term to begin January 4, 1969; 300
two to be elected in 1976, terms to begin January 4, 1977, and 301
January 5, 1977, respectively; one to be elected in 1982, term to 302
begin January 6, 1983; one to be elected in 1988, term to begin 303
January 7, 1989; one to be elected in 1990, term to begin January 304
2, 1991; and one to be elected in 1992, term to begin January 2, 305
1993; 306

       In Mahoning county, seven judges; three to be elected in 307
1954, terms to begin January 1, 1955, January 2, 1955, and 308
February 9, 1955, respectively; one to be elected in 1956, term to 309
begin January 1, 1957; one to be elected in 1952, term to begin 310
January 1, 1953; one to be elected in 1968, term to begin January 311
2, 1969; and one to be elected in 1990, term to begin July 1, 312
1991; 313

       In Montgomery county, fifteen judges; three to be elected in 314
1954, terms to begin January 1, 1955, January 2, 1955, and January 315
3, 1955, respectively; four to be elected in 1952, terms to begin 316
January 1, 1953, January 2, 1953, July 1, 1953, and July 2, 1953, 317
respectively; one to be elected in 1964, term to begin January 3, 318
1965; one to be elected in 1968, term to begin January 3, 1969; 319
three to be elected in 1976, terms to begin on successive days 320
beginning January 4, 1977, to January 6, 1977; two to be elected 321
in 1990, terms to begin July 1, 1991, and July 2, 1991, 322
respectively; and one to be elected in 1992, term to begin January 323
1, 1993. 324

       In Stark county, eight judges; one to be elected in 1958, 325
term to begin on January 2, 1959; two to be elected in 1954, terms 326
to begin on January 1, 1955, and February 9, 1955, respectively; 327
two to be elected in 1952, terms to begin January 1, 1953, and 328
April 16, 1953, respectively; one to be elected in 1966, term to 329
begin on January 4, 1967; and two to be elected in 1992, terms to 330
begin January 1, 1993, and January 2, 1993, respectively; 331

       In Summit county, eleven judges; four to be elected in 1954, 332
terms to begin January 1, 1955, January 2, 1955, January 3, 1955, 333
and February 9, 1955, respectively; three to be elected in 1958, 334
terms to begin January 1, 1959, January 2, 1959, and May 17, 1959, 335
respectively; one to be elected in 1966, term to begin January 4, 336
1967; one to be elected in 1968, term to begin January 5, 1969; 337
one to be elected in 1990, term to begin May 1, 1991; and one to 338
be elected in 1992, term to begin January 6, 1993. 339

       Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, in any county 340
having two or more judges of the court of common pleas, in which 341
more than one-third of the judges plus one were previously elected 342
at the same election, if the office of one of those judges so 343
elected becomes vacant more than forty days prior to the second 344
general election preceding the expiration of that judge's term, 345
the office that that judge had filled shall be abolished as of the 346
date of the next general election, and a new office of judge of 347
the court of common pleas shall be created. The judge who is to 348
fill that new office shall be elected for a six-year term at the 349
next general election, and the term of that judge shall commence 350
on the first day of the year following that general election, on 351
which day no other judge's term begins, so that the number of 352
judges that the county shall elect shall not be reduced. 353

       Judges of the probate division of the court of common pleas 354
are judges of the court of common pleas but shall be elected 355
pursuant to sections 2101.02 and 2101.021 of the Revised Code, 356
except in Adams, Harrison, Henry, Morgan, ~~Morrow,~~ Noble, and 357
Wyandot counties in which the judge of the court of common pleas 358
elected pursuant to this section also shall serve as judge of the 359
probate division, except in Lorain county in which the judges of 360
the domestic relations division of the Lorain county court of 361
common pleas elected pursuant to this section also shall perform 362
the duties and functions of the judge of the probate division, and 363
except in Morrow county in which the successors to the judge of 364
the court of common pleas elected in 1956 pursuant to this section 365
also shall serve as judge of the probate division. 366

       Sec. 2301.03. (A) In Franklin county, the judges of the 367
court of common pleas whose terms begin on January 1, 1953, 368
January 2, 1953, January 5, 1969, January 5, 1977, and January 2, 369
1997, and successors, shall have the same qualifications, exercise 370
the same powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same 371
compensation as other judges of the court of common pleas of 372
Franklin county and shall be elected and designated as judges of 373
the court of common pleas, division of domestic relations. They 374
shall have all the powers relating to juvenile courts, and all 375
cases under Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code, all 376
parentage proceedings under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code over 377
which the juvenile court has jurisdiction, and all divorce, 378
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases 379
shall be assigned to them. In addition to the judge's regular 380
duties, the judge who is senior in point of service shall serve on 381
the children services board and the county advisory board and 382
shall be the administrator of the domestic relations division and 383
its subdivisions and departments. 384

       (B) In Hamilton county: 385

       (1) The judge of the court of common pleas, whose term begins 386
on January 1, 1957, and successors, and the judge of the court of 387
common pleas, whose term begins on February 14, 1967, and 388
successors, shall be the juvenile judges as provided in Chapters 389
2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code, with the powers and 390
jurisdiction conferred by those chapters. 391

       (2) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 392
on January 5, 1957, January 16, 1981, and July 1, 1991, and 393
successors, shall be elected and designated as judges of the court 394
of common pleas, division of domestic relations, and shall have 395
assigned to them all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 396
separation, and annulment cases coming before the court. On or 397
after the first day of July and before the first day of August of 398
1991 and each year thereafter, a majority of the judges of the 399
division of domestic relations shall elect one of the judges of 400
the division as administrative judge of that division. If a 401
majority of the judges of the division of domestic relations are 402
unable for any reason to elect an administrative judge for the 403
division before the first day of August, a majority of the judges 404
of the Hamilton county court of common pleas, as soon as possible 405
after that date, shall elect one of the judges of the division of 406
domestic relations as administrative judge of that division. The 407
term of the administrative judge shall begin on the earlier of the 408
first day of August of the year in which the administrative judge 409
is elected or the date on which the administrative judge is 410
elected by a majority of the judges of the Hamilton county court 411
of common pleas and shall terminate on the date on which the 412
administrative judge's successor is elected in the following year. 413

       In addition to the judge's regular duties, the administrative 414
judge of the division of domestic relations shall be the 415
administrator of the domestic relations division and its 416
subdivisions and departments and shall have charge of the 417
employment, assignment, and supervision of the personnel of the 418
division engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating divorce, 419
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, 420
including any referees considered necessary by the judges in the 421
discharge of their various duties. 422

       The administrative judge of the division of domestic 423
relations also shall designate the title, compensation, expense 424
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 425
personnel of the division, and shall fix the duties of its 426
personnel. The duties of the personnel, in addition to those 427
provided for in other sections of the Revised Code, shall include 428
the handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution 429
of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases and counseling 430
and conciliation services that may be made available to persons 431
requesting them, whether or not the persons are parties to an 432
action pending in the division. 433

       The board of county commissioners shall appropriate the sum 434
of money each year as will meet all the administrative expenses of 435
the division of domestic relations, including reasonable expenses 436
of the domestic relations judges and the division counselors and 437
other employees designated to conduct the handling, servicing, and 438
investigation of divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 439
separation, and annulment cases, conciliation and counseling, and 440
all matters relating to those cases and counseling, and the 441
expenses involved in the attendance of division personnel at 442
domestic relations and welfare conferences designated by the 443
division, and the further sum each year as will provide for the 444
adequate operation of the division of domestic relations. 445

       The compensation and expenses of all employees and the salary 446
and expenses of the judges shall be paid by the county treasurer 447
from the money appropriated for the operation of the division, 448
upon the warrant of the county auditor, certified to by the 449
administrative judge of the division of domestic relations. 450

       The summonses, warrants, citations, subpoenas, and other 451
writs of the division may issue to a bailiff, constable, or staff 452
investigator of the division or to the sheriff of any county or 453
any marshal, constable, or police officer, and the provisions of 454
law relating to the subpoenaing of witnesses in other cases shall 455
apply insofar as they are applicable. When a summons, warrant, 456
citation, subpoena, or other writ is issued to an officer, other 457
than a bailiff, constable, or staff investigator of the division, 458
the expense of serving it shall be assessed as a part of the costs 459
in the case involved. 460

       (3) The judge of the court of common pleas of Hamilton county 461
whose term begins on January 3, 1997, and the successor to that 462
judge whose term begins on January 3, 2003, shall each be elected 463
and designated for one term only as the drug court judge of the 464
court of common pleas of Hamilton county. The successors to the 465
judge whose term begins on January 3, 2003, shall be elected and 466
designated as judges of the general division of the court of 467
common pleas of Hamilton county and shall not have the authority 468
granted by division (B)(3) of this section. The drug court judge 469
may accept or reject any case referred to the drug court judge 470
under division (B)(3) of this section. After the drug court judge 471
accepts a referred case, the drug court judge has full authority 472
over the case, including the authority to conduct arraignment, 473
accept pleas, enter findings and dispositions, conduct trials, 474
order treatment, and if treatment is not successfully completed 475
pronounce and enter sentence. 476

       A judge of the general division of the court of common pleas 477
of Hamilton county and a judge of the Hamilton county municipal 478
court may refer to the drug court judge any case, and any 479
companion cases, the judge determines meet the criteria described 480
under divisions (B)(3)(a) and (b) of this section. If the drug 481
court judge accepts referral of a referred case, the case, and any 482
companion cases, shall be transferred to the drug court judge. A 483
judge may refer a case meeting the criteria described in divisions 484
(B)(3)(a) and (b) of this section that involves a violation of a 485
condition of a community control sanction to the drug court judge, 486
and, if the drug court judge accepts the referral, the referring 487
judge and the drug court judge have concurrent jurisdiction over 488
the case. 489

       A judge of the general division of the court of common pleas 490
of Hamilton county and a judge of the Hamilton county municipal 491
court may refer a case to the drug court judge under division 492
(B)(3) of this section if the judge determines that both of the 493
following apply: 494

       (a) One of the following applies: 495

       (i) The case involves a drug abuse offense, as defined in 496
section 2925.01 of the Revised Code, that is a felony of the third 497
or fourth degree if the offense is committed prior to July 1, 498
1996, a felony of the third, fourth, or fifth degree if the 499
offense is committed on or after July 1, 1996, or a misdemeanor. 500

       (ii) The case involves a theft offense, as defined in section 501
2913.01 of the Revised Code, that is a felony of the third or 502
fourth degree if the offense is committed prior to July 1, 1996, a 503
felony of the third, fourth, or fifth degree if the offense is 504
committed on or after July 1, 1996, or a misdemeanor, and the 505
defendant is drug or alcohol dependent or in danger of becoming 506
drug or alcohol dependent and would benefit from treatment. 507

       (b) All of the following apply: 508

       (i) The case involves an offense for which a community 509
control sanction may be imposed or is a case in which a mandatory 510
prison term or a mandatory jail term is not required to be 511
imposed. 512

       (ii) The defendant has no history of violent behavior. 513

       (iii) The defendant has no history of mental illness. 514

       (iv) The defendant's current or past behavior, or both, is 515
drug or alcohol driven. 516

       (v) The defendant demonstrates a sincere willingness to 517
participate in a fifteen-month treatment process. 518

       (vi) The defendant has no acute health condition. 519

       (vii) If the defendant is incarcerated, the county prosecutor 520
approves of the referral. 521

       (4) If the administrative judge of the court of common pleas 522
of Hamilton county determines that the volume of cases pending 523
before the drug court judge does not constitute a sufficient 524
caseload for the drug court judge, the administrative judge, in 525
accordance with the Rules of Superintendence for Courts of Common 526
Pleas, shall assign individual cases to the drug court judge from 527
the general docket of the court. If the assignments so occur, the 528
administrative judge shall cease the assignments when the 529
administrative judge determines that the volume of cases pending 530
before the drug court judge constitutes a sufficient caseload for 531
the drug court judge. 532

       (5) As used in division (B) of this section, "community 533
control sanction," "mandatory prison term," and "mandatory jail 534
term" have the same meanings as in section 2929.01 of the Revised 535
Code. 536

       (C)(1) In Lorain county~~, the~~: 537

       (a) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 538
on January 3, 1959, January 4, 1989, ~~and~~ January 2, 1999, and 539
February 9, 2009, and successors, shall have the same 540
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 541
receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court of 542
common pleas of Lorain county and shall be elected and designated 543
as the judges of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 544
relations. They shall have all of the powers relating to juvenile 545
courts, and all cases under Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the 546
Revised Code, all parentage proceedings over which the juvenile 547
court has jurisdiction, and all divorce, dissolution of marriage, 548
legal separation, and annulment cases shall be assigned to them, 549
except cases that for some special reason are assigned to some 550
other judge of the court of common pleas. 551

       (b) On and after January 1, 2006, the judges of the court of 552
common pleas, division of domestic relations, in addition to the 553
powers and jurisdiction set forth in division (C)(1)(a) of this 554
section, shall have jurisdiction over matters that are within the 555
jurisdiction of the probate court under Chapter 2101. and other 556
provisions of the Revised Code. From January 1, 2006, through 557
February 8, 2009, the judges of the court of common pleas, 558
division of domestic relations, shall exercise probate 559
jurisdiction concurrently with the probate judge. 560

        (c) The judge of the court of common pleas, division of 561
domestic relations, whose term begins on February 9, 2009, is the 562
successor to the probate judge who was elected in 2002 for a term 563
that began on February 9, 2003. 564

        (2)(a) From January 1, 2006, through February 8, 2009, with 565
respect to Lorain county, all references in law to the probate 566
court shall be construed as references to both the probate court 567
and the court of common pleas, division of domestic relations, and 568
all references in law to the probate judge shall be construed as 569
references to both the probate judge and the judges of the court 570
of common pleas, division of domestic relations. On and after 571
February 9, 2009, with respect to Lorain county, all references in 572
law to the probate court shall be construed as references to the 573
court of common pleas, division of domestic relations, and all 574
references to the probate judge shall be construed as references 575
to the judges of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 576
relations. 577

        (b) On and after February 9, 2009, with respect to Lorain 578
county, all references in law to the clerk of the probate court 579
shall be construed as references to the judge who is serving 580
pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts 581
of Ohio as the administrative judge of the court of common pleas, 582
division of domestic relations. 583

       (D) In Lucas county: 584

       (1) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 585
on January 1, 1955, and January 3, 1965, and successors, shall 586
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 587
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 588
the court of common pleas of Lucas county and shall be elected and 589
designated as judges of the court of common pleas, division of 590
domestic relations. All divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 591
separation, and annulment cases shall be assigned to them. 592

       The judge of the division of domestic relations, senior in 593
point of service, shall be considered as the presiding judge of 594
the court of common pleas, division of domestic relations, and 595
shall be charged exclusively with the assignment and division of 596
the work of the division and the employment and supervision of all 597
other personnel of the domestic relations division. 598

       (2) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 599
on January 5, 1977, and January 2, 1991, and successors shall have 600
the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 601
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 602
the court of common pleas of Lucas county, shall be elected and 603
designated as judges of the court of common pleas, juvenile 604
division, and shall be the juvenile judges as provided in Chapters 605
2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code with the powers and 606
jurisdictions conferred by those chapters. In addition to the 607
judge's regular duties, the judge of the court of common pleas, 608
juvenile division, senior in point of service, shall be the 609
administrator of the juvenile division and its subdivisions and 610
departments and shall have charge of the employment, assignment, 611
and supervision of the personnel of the division engaged in 612
handling, servicing, or investigating juvenile cases, including 613
any referees considered necessary by the judges of the division in 614
the discharge of their various duties. 615

       The judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, 616
senior in point of service, also shall designate the title, 617
compensation, expense allowance, hours, leaves of absence, and 618
vacation of the personnel of the division and shall fix the duties 619
of the personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel, in 620
addition to other statutory duties include the handling, 621
servicing, and investigation of juvenile cases and counseling and 622
conciliation services that may be made available to persons 623
requesting them, whether or not the persons are parties to an 624
action pending in the division. 625

       (3) If one of the judges of the court of common pleas, 626
division of domestic relations, or one of the judges of the 627
juvenile division is sick, absent, or unable to perform that 628
judge's judicial duties or the volume of cases pending in that 629
judge's division necessitates it, the duties shall be performed by 630
the judges of the other of those divisions. 631

       (E) In Mahoning county: 632

       (1) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term began 633
on January 1, 1955, and successors, shall have the same 634
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 635
receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 636
common pleas of Mahoning county, shall be elected and designated 637
as judge of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 638
relations, and shall be assigned all the divorce, dissolution of 639
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases coming before the 640
court. In addition to the judge's regular duties, the judge of the 641
court of common pleas, division of domestic relations, shall be 642
the administrator of the domestic relations division and its 643
subdivisions and departments and shall have charge of the 644
employment, assignment, and supervision of the personnel of the 645
division engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating divorce, 646
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, 647
including any referees considered necessary in the discharge of 648
the various duties of the judge's office. 649

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 650
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 651
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 652
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel, in 653
addition to other statutory duties, include the handling, 654
servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of marriage, 655
legal separation, and annulment cases and counseling and 656
conciliation services that may be made available to persons 657
requesting them, whether or not the persons are parties to an 658
action pending in the division. 659

       (2) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term began 660
on January 2, 1969, and successors, shall have the same 661
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 662
receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 663
common pleas of Mahoning county, shall be elected and designated 664
as judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, and 665
shall be the juvenile judge as provided in Chapters 2151. and 666
2152. of the Revised Code, with the powers and jurisdictions 667
conferred by those chapters. In addition to the judge's regular 668
duties, the judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, 669
shall be the administrator of the juvenile division and its 670
subdivisions and departments and shall have charge of the 671
employment, assignment, and supervision of the personnel of the 672
division engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating juvenile 673
cases, including any referees considered necessary by the judge in 674
the discharge of the judge's various duties. 675

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 676
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacation of the 677
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 678
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel, in 679
addition to other statutory duties, include the handling, 680
servicing, and investigation of juvenile cases and counseling and 681
conciliation services that may be made available to persons 682
requesting them, whether or not the persons are parties to an 683
action pending in the division. 684

       (3) If a judge of the court of common pleas, division of 685
domestic relations or juvenile division, is sick, absent, or 686
unable to perform that judge's judicial duties, or the volume of 687
cases pending in that judge's division necessitates it, that 688
judge's duties shall be performed by another judge of the court of 689
common pleas. 690

       (F) In Montgomery county: 691

       (1) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 692
on January 2, 1953, and January 4, 1977, and successors, shall 693
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 694
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 695
the court of common pleas of Montgomery county and shall be 696
elected and designated as judges of the court of common pleas, 697
division of domestic relations. These judges shall have assigned 698
to them all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, 699
and annulment cases. 700

       The judge of the division of domestic relations, senior in 701
point of service, shall be charged exclusively with the assignment 702
and division of the work of the division and shall have charge of 703
the employment and supervision of the personnel of the division 704
engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating divorce, 705
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, 706
including any necessary referees, except those employees who may 707
be appointed by the judge, junior in point of service, under this 708
section and sections 2301.12, 2301.18, and 2301.19 of the Revised 709
Code. The judge of the division of domestic relations, senior in 710
point of service, also shall designate the title, compensation, 711
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacation of the 712
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. 713

       (2) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 714
on January 1, 1953, and January 1, 1993, and successors, shall 715
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 716
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 717
the court of common pleas of Montgomery county, shall be elected 718
and designated as judges of the court of common pleas, juvenile 719
division, and shall be, and have the powers and jurisdiction of, 720
the juvenile judge as provided in Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the 721
Revised Code. 722

       In addition to the judge's regular duties, the judge of the 723
court of common pleas, juvenile division, senior in point of 724
service, shall be the administrator of the juvenile division and 725
its subdivisions and departments and shall have charge of the 726
employment, assignment, and supervision of the personnel of the 727
juvenile division, including any necessary referees, who are 728
engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating juvenile cases. 729
The judge, senior in point of service, also shall designate the 730
title, compensation, expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, 731
and vacation of the personnel of the division and shall fix their 732
duties. The duties of the personnel, in addition to other 733
statutory duties, shall include the handling, servicing, and 734
investigation of juvenile cases and of any counseling and 735
conciliation services that are available upon request to persons, 736
whether or not they are parties to an action pending in the 737
division. 738

       If one of the judges of the court of common pleas, division 739
of domestic relations, or one of the judges of the court of common 740
pleas, juvenile division, is sick, absent, or unable to perform 741
that judge's duties or the volume of cases pending in that judge's 742
division necessitates it, the duties of that judge may be 743
performed by the judge or judges of the other of those divisions. 744

       (G) In Richland county: 745

       (1) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 746
on January 1, 1957, and successors, shall have the same 747
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 748
receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court of 749
common pleas of Richland county and shall be elected and 750
designated as judge of the court of common pleas, division of 751
domestic relations. That judge shall be assigned and hear all 752
divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment 753
cases, all domestic violence cases arising under section 3113.31 754
of the Revised Code, and all post-decree proceedings arising from 755
any case pertaining to any of those matters. The division of 756
domestic relations has concurrent jurisdiction with the juvenile 757
division of the court of common pleas of Richland county to 758
determine the care, custody, or control of any child not a ward of 759
another court of this state, and to hear and determine a request 760
for an order for the support of any child if the request is not 761
ancillary to an action for divorce, dissolution of marriage, 762
annulment, or legal separation, a criminal or civil action 763
involving an allegation of domestic violence, or an action for 764
support brought under Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code. Except in 765
cases that are subject to the exclusive original jurisdiction of 766
the juvenile court, the judge of the division of domestic 767
relations shall be assigned and hear all cases pertaining to 768
paternity or parentage, the care, custody, or control of children, 769
parenting time or visitation, child support, or the allocation of 770
parental rights and responsibilities for the care of children, all 771
proceedings arising under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, all 772
proceedings arising under the uniform interstate family support 773
act contained in Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code, and all 774
post-decree proceedings arising from any case pertaining to any of 775
those matters. 776

       In addition to the judge's regular duties, the judge of the 777
court of common pleas, division of domestic relations, shall be 778
the administrator of the domestic relations division and its 779
subdivisions and departments. The judge shall have charge of the 780
employment, assignment, and supervision of the personnel of the 781
domestic relations division, including any magistrates the judge 782
considers necessary for the discharge of the judge's duties. The 783
judge shall also designate the title, compensation, expense 784
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, vacation, and other 785
employment-related matters of the personnel of the division and 786
shall fix their duties. 787

        (2) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 788
on January 3, 2005, and successors, shall have the same 789
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 790
receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 791
common pleas of Richland county, shall be elected and designated 792
as judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, and 793
shall be, and have the powers and jurisdiction of, the juvenile 794
judge as provided in Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code. 795
Except in cases that are subject to the exclusive original 796
jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the judge of the juvenile 797
division shall not have jurisdiction or the power to hear, and 798
shall not be assigned, any case pertaining to paternity or 799
parentage, the care, custody, or control of children, parenting 800
time or visitation, child support, or the allocation of parental 801
rights and responsibilities for the care of children or any 802
post-decree proceeding arising from any case pertaining to any of 803
those matters. The judge of the juvenile division shall not have 804
jurisdiction or the power to hear, and shall not be assigned, any 805
proceeding under the uniform interstate family support act 806
contained in Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code. 807

       In addition to the judge's regular duties, the judge of the 808
juvenile division shall be the administrator of the juvenile 809
division and its subdivisions and departments. The judge shall 810
have charge of the employment, assignment, and supervision of the 811
personnel of the juvenile division who are engaged in handling, 812
servicing, or investigating juvenile cases, including any 813
magistrates whom the judge considers necessary for the discharge 814
of the judge's various duties. 815

       The judge of the juvenile division also shall designate the 816
title, compensation, expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, 817
and vacation of the personnel of the division and shall fix their 818
duties. The duties of the personnel, in addition to other 819
statutory duties, include the handling, servicing, and 820
investigation of juvenile cases and providing any counseling, 821
conciliation, and mediation services that the court makes 822
available to persons, whether or not the persons are parties to an 823
action pending in the court, who request the services. 824

       (H) In Stark county, the judges of the court of common pleas 825
whose terms begin on January 1, 1953, January 2, 1959, and January 826
1, 1993, and successors, shall have the same qualifications, 827
exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same 828
compensation as other judges of the court of common pleas of Stark 829
county and shall be elected and designated as judges of the court 830
of common pleas, division of domestic relations. They shall have 831
all the powers relating to juvenile courts, and all cases under 832
Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code, all parentage 833
proceedings over which the juvenile court has jurisdiction, and 834
all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and 835
annulment cases, except cases that are assigned to some other 836
judge of the court of common pleas for some special reason, shall 837
be assigned to the judges. 838

       The judge of the division of domestic relations, second most 839
senior in point of service, shall have charge of the employment 840
and supervision of the personnel of the division engaged in 841
handling, servicing, or investigating divorce, dissolution of 842
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, and necessary 843
referees required for the judge's respective court. 844

       The judge of the division of domestic relations, senior in 845
point of service, shall be charged exclusively with the 846
administration of sections 2151.13, 2151.16, 2151.17, and 2152.71 847
of the Revised Code and with the assignment and division of the 848
work of the division and the employment and supervision of all 849
other personnel of the division, including, but not limited to, 850
that judge's necessary referees, but excepting those employees who 851
may be appointed by the judge second most senior in point of 852
service. The senior judge further shall serve in every other 853
position in which the statutes permit or require a juvenile judge 854
to serve. 855

       (I) In Summit county: 856

       (1) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 857
on January 4, 1967, and January 6, 1993, and successors, shall 858
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 859
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 860
the court of common pleas of Summit county and shall be elected 861
and designated as judges of the court of common pleas, division of 862
domestic relations. The judges of the division of domestic 863
relations shall have assigned to them and hear all divorce, 864
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases 865
that come before the court. Except in cases that are subject to 866
the exclusive original jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the 867
judges of the division of domestic relations shall have assigned 868
to them and hear all cases pertaining to paternity, custody, 869
visitation, child support, or the allocation of parental rights 870
and responsibilities for the care of children and all post-decree 871
proceedings arising from any case pertaining to any of those 872
matters. The judges of the division of domestic relations shall 873
have assigned to them and hear all proceedings under the uniform 874
interstate family support act contained in Chapter 3115. of the 875
Revised Code. 876

       The judge of the division of domestic relations, senior in 877
point of service, shall be the administrator of the domestic 878
relations division and its subdivisions and departments and shall 879
have charge of the employment, assignment, and supervision of the 880
personnel of the division, including any necessary referees, who 881
are engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating divorce, 882
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases. 883
That judge also shall designate the title, compensation, expense 884
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 885
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 886
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, shall 887
include the handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, 888
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases and 889
of any counseling and conciliation services that are available 890
upon request to all persons, whether or not they are parties to an 891
action pending in the division. 892

       (2) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 893
on January 1, 1955, and successors, shall have the same 894
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 895
receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 896
common pleas of Summit county, shall be elected and designated as 897
judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, and shall 898
be, and have the powers and jurisdiction of, the juvenile judge as 899
provided in Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code. Except 900
in cases that are subject to the exclusive original jurisdiction 901
of the juvenile court, the judge of the juvenile division shall 902
not have jurisdiction or the power to hear, and shall not be 903
assigned, any case pertaining to paternity, custody, visitation, 904
child support, or the allocation of parental rights and 905
responsibilities for the care of children or any post-decree 906
proceeding arising from any case pertaining to any of those 907
matters. The judge of the juvenile division shall not have 908
jurisdiction or the power to hear, and shall not be assigned, any 909
proceeding under the uniform interstate family support act 910
contained in Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code. 911

       The juvenile judge shall be the administrator of the juvenile 912
division and its subdivisions and departments and shall have 913
charge of the employment, assignment, and supervision of the 914
personnel of the juvenile division, including any necessary 915
referees, who are engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating 916
juvenile cases. The judge also shall designate the title, 917
compensation, expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and 918
vacation of the personnel of the division and shall fix their 919
duties. The duties of the personnel, in addition to other 920
statutory duties, shall include the handling, servicing, and 921
investigation of juvenile cases and of any counseling and 922
conciliation services that are available upon request to persons, 923
whether or not they are parties to an action pending in the 924
division. 925

       (J) In Trumbull county, the judges of the court of common 926
pleas whose terms begin on January 1, 1953, and January 2, 1977, 927
and successors, shall have the same qualifications, exercise the 928
same powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as 929
other judges of the court of common pleas of Trumbull county and 930
shall be elected and designated as judges of the court of common 931
pleas, division of domestic relations. They shall have all the 932
powers relating to juvenile courts, and all cases under Chapters 933
2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code, all parentage proceedings 934
over which the juvenile court has jurisdiction, and all divorce, 935
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases 936
shall be assigned to them, except cases that for some special 937
reason are assigned to some other judge of the court of common 938
pleas. 939

       (K) In Butler county: 940

       (1) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 941
on January 1, 1957, and January 4, 1993, and successors, shall 942
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 943
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 944
the court of common pleas of Butler county and shall be elected 945
and designated as judges of the court of common pleas, division of 946
domestic relations. The judges of the division of domestic 947
relations shall have assigned to them all divorce, dissolution of 948
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases coming before the 949
court, except in cases that for some special reason are assigned 950
to some other judge of the court of common pleas. The judge senior 951
in point of service shall be charged with the assignment and 952
division of the work of the division and with the employment and 953
supervision of all other personnel of the domestic relations 954
division. 955

       The judge senior in point of service also shall designate the 956
title, compensation, expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, 957
and vacations of the personnel of the division and shall fix their 958
duties. The duties of the personnel, in addition to other 959
statutory duties, shall include the handling, servicing, and 960
investigation of divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 961
separation, and annulment cases and providing any counseling and 962
conciliation services that the division makes available to 963
persons, whether or not the persons are parties to an action 964
pending in the division, who request the services. 965

       (2) The judges of the court of common pleas whose terms begin 966
on January 3, 1987, and January 2, 2003, and successors, shall 967
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 968
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 969
the court of common pleas of Butler county, shall be elected and 970
designated as judges of the court of common pleas, juvenile 971
division, and shall be the juvenile judges as provided in Chapters 972
2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code, with the powers and 973
jurisdictions conferred by those chapters. The judge of the court 974
of common pleas, juvenile division, who is senior in point of 975
service, shall be the administrator of the juvenile division and 976
its subdivisions and departments. The judge, senior in point of 977
service, shall have charge of the employment, assignment, and 978
supervision of the personnel of the juvenile division who are 979
engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating juvenile cases, 980
including any referees whom the judge considers necessary for the 981
discharge of the judge's various duties. 982

       The judge, senior in point of service, also shall designate 983
the title, compensation, expense allowances, hours, leaves of 984
absence, and vacation of the personnel of the division and shall 985
fix their duties. The duties of the personnel, in addition to 986
other statutory duties, include the handling, servicing, and 987
investigation of juvenile cases and providing any counseling and 988
conciliation services that the division makes available to 989
persons, whether or not the persons are parties to an action 990
pending in the division, who request the services. 991

       (3) If a judge of the court of common pleas, division of 992
domestic relations or juvenile division, is sick, absent, or 993
unable to perform that judge's judicial duties or the volume of 994
cases pending in the judge's division necessitates it, the duties 995
of that judge shall be performed by the other judges of the 996
domestic relations and juvenile divisions. 997

       (L)(1) In Cuyahoga county, the judges of the court of common 998
pleas whose terms begin on January 8, 1961, January 9, 1961, 999
January 18, 1975, January 19, 1975, and January 13, 1987, and 1000
successors, shall have the same qualifications, exercise the same 1001
powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as 1002
other judges of the court of common pleas of Cuyahoga county and 1003
shall be elected and designated as judges of the court of common 1004
pleas, division of domestic relations. They shall have all the 1005
powers relating to all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1006
separation, and annulment cases, except in cases that are assigned 1007
to some other judge of the court of common pleas for some special 1008
reason. 1009

       (2) The administrative judge is administrator of the domestic 1010
relations division and its subdivisions and departments and has 1011
the following powers concerning division personnel: 1012

       (a) Full charge of the employment, assignment, and 1013
supervision; 1014

       (b) Sole determination of compensation, duties, expenses, 1015
allowances, hours, leaves, and vacations. 1016

       (3) "Division personnel" include persons employed or referees 1017
engaged in hearing, servicing, investigating, counseling, or 1018
conciliating divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation 1019
and annulment matters. 1020

       (M) In Lake county: 1021

       (1) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 1022
on January 2, 1961, and successors, shall have the same 1023
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 1024
receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court of 1025
common pleas of Lake county and shall be elected and designated as 1026
judge of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 1027
relations. The judge shall be assigned all the divorce, 1028
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases 1029
coming before the court, except in cases that for some special 1030
reason are assigned to some other judge of the court of common 1031
pleas. The judge shall be charged with the assignment and division 1032
of the work of the division and with the employment and 1033
supervision of all other personnel of the domestic relations 1034
division. 1035

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 1036
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1037
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 1038
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, shall 1039
include the handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, 1040
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases and 1041
providing any counseling and conciliation services that the 1042
division makes available to persons, whether or not the persons 1043
are parties to an action pending in the division, who request the 1044
services. 1045

       (2) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 1046
on January 4, 1979, and successors, shall have the same 1047
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 1048
receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 1049
common pleas of Lake county, shall be elected and designated as 1050
judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, and shall 1051
be the juvenile judge as provided in Chapters 2151. and 2152. of 1052
the Revised Code, with the powers and jurisdictions conferred by 1053
those chapters. The judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile 1054
division, shall be the administrator of the juvenile division and 1055
its subdivisions and departments. The judge shall have charge of 1056
the employment, assignment, and supervision of the personnel of 1057
the juvenile division who are engaged in handling, servicing, or 1058
investigating juvenile cases, including any referees whom the 1059
judge considers necessary for the discharge of the judge's various 1060
duties. 1061

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 1062
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacation of the 1063
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 1064
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, include 1065
the handling, servicing, and investigation of juvenile cases and 1066
providing any counseling and conciliation services that the 1067
division makes available to persons, whether or not the persons 1068
are parties to an action pending in the division, who request the 1069
services. 1070

       (3) If a judge of the court of common pleas, division of 1071
domestic relations or juvenile division, is sick, absent, or 1072
unable to perform that judge's judicial duties or the volume of 1073
cases pending in the judge's division necessitates it, the duties 1074
of that judge shall be performed by the other judges of the 1075
domestic relations and juvenile divisions. 1076

       (N) In Erie county: 1077

       (1) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 1078
on January 2, 1971, and the successors to that judge whose terms 1079
begin before January 2, 2007, shall have the same qualifications, 1080
exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same 1081
compensation as the other judge of the court of common pleas of 1082
Erie county and shall be elected and designated as judge of the 1083
court of common pleas, division of domestic relations. The judge 1084
shall have all the powers relating to juvenile courts, and shall 1085
be assigned all cases under Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the 1086
Revised Code, parentage proceedings over which the juvenile court 1087
has jurisdiction, and divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1088
separation, and annulment cases, except cases that for some 1089
special reason are assigned to some other judge. 1090

        On or after January 2, 2007, the judge of the court of common 1091
pleas who is elected in 2006 shall be the successor to the judge 1092
of the domestic relations division whose term expires on January 1093
1, 2007, shall be designated as judge of the court of common 1094
pleas, juvenile division, and shall be the juvenile judge as 1095
provided in Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code with the 1096
powers and jurisdictions conferred by those chapters. 1097

        (2) The judge of the court of common pleas, general division, 1098
whose term begins on January 1, 2005, and successors, the judge of 1099
the court of common pleas, general division whose term begins on 1100
January 2, 2005, and successors, and the judge of the court of 1101
common pleas, general division, whose term begins February 9, 1102
2009, and successors, shall have assigned to them, in addition to 1103
all matters that are within the jurisdiction of the general 1104
division of the court of common pleas, all divorce, dissolution of 1105
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases coming before the 1106
court, and all matters that are within the jurisdiction of the 1107
probate court under Chapter 2101., and other provisions, of the 1108
Revised Code. 1109

       (O) In Greene county: 1110

       (1) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 1111
on January 1, 1961, and successors, shall have the same 1112
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 1113
receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court of 1114
common pleas of Greene county and shall be elected and designated 1115
as the judge of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 1116
relations. The judge shall be assigned all divorce, dissolution of 1117
marriage, legal separation, annulment, uniform reciprocal support 1118
enforcement, and domestic violence cases and all other cases 1119
related to domestic relations, except cases that for some special 1120
reason are assigned to some other judge of the court of common 1121
pleas. 1122

       The judge shall be charged with the assignment and division 1123
of the work of the division and with the employment and 1124
supervision of all other personnel of the division. The judge also 1125
shall designate the title, compensation, hours, leaves of absence, 1126
and vacations of the personnel of the division and shall fix their 1127
duties. The duties of the personnel of the division, in addition 1128
to other statutory duties, shall include the handling, servicing, 1129
and investigation of divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1130
separation, and annulment cases and the provision of counseling 1131
and conciliation services that the division considers necessary 1132
and makes available to persons who request the services, whether 1133
or not the persons are parties in an action pending in the 1134
division. The compensation for the personnel shall be paid from 1135
the overall court budget and shall be included in the 1136
appropriations for the existing judges of the general division of 1137
the court of common pleas. 1138

       (2) The judge of the court of common pleas whose term begins 1139
on January 1, 1995, and successors, shall have the same 1140
qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, and 1141
receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court of 1142
common pleas of Greene county, shall be elected and designated as 1143
judge of the court of common pleas, juvenile division, and, on or 1144
after January 1, 1995, shall be the juvenile judge as provided in 1145
Chapters 2151. and 2152. of the Revised Code with the powers and 1146
jurisdiction conferred by those chapters. The judge of the court 1147
of common pleas, juvenile division, shall be the administrator of 1148
the juvenile division and its subdivisions and departments. The 1149
judge shall have charge of the employment, assignment, and 1150
supervision of the personnel of the juvenile division who are 1151
engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating juvenile cases, 1152
including any referees whom the judge considers necessary for the 1153
discharge of the judge's various duties. 1154

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 1155
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacation of the 1156
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 1157
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, include 1158
the handling, servicing, and investigation of juvenile cases and 1159
providing any counseling and conciliation services that the court 1160
makes available to persons, whether or not the persons are parties 1161
to an action pending in the court, who request the services. 1162

       (3) If one of the judges of the court of common pleas, 1163
general division, is sick, absent, or unable to perform that 1164
judge's judicial duties or the volume of cases pending in the 1165
general division necessitates it, the duties of that judge of the 1166
general division shall be performed by the judge of the division 1167
of domestic relations and the judge of the juvenile division. 1168

       (P) In Portage county, the judge of the court of common 1169
pleas, whose term begins January 2, 1987, and successors, shall 1170
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 1171
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the other 1172
judges of the court of common pleas of Portage county and shall be 1173
elected and designated as judge of the court of common pleas, 1174
division of domestic relations. The judge shall be assigned all 1175
divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment 1176
cases coming before the court, except in cases that for some 1177
special reason are assigned to some other judge of the court of 1178
common pleas. The judge shall be charged with the assignment and 1179
division of the work of the division and with the employment and 1180
supervision of all other personnel of the domestic relations 1181
division. 1182

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 1183
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1184
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 1185
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, shall 1186
include the handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, 1187
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases and 1188
providing any counseling and conciliation services that the 1189
division makes available to persons, whether or not the persons 1190
are parties to an action pending in the division, who request the 1191
services. 1192

       (Q) In Clermont county, the judge of the court of common 1193
pleas, whose term begins January 2, 1987, and successors, shall 1194
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 1195
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the other 1196
judges of the court of common pleas of Clermont county and shall 1197
be elected and designated as judge of the court of common pleas, 1198
division of domestic relations. The judge shall be assigned all 1199
divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment 1200
cases coming before the court, except in cases that for some 1201
special reason are assigned to some other judge of the court of 1202
common pleas. The judge shall be charged with the assignment and 1203
division of the work of the division and with the employment and 1204
supervision of all other personnel of the domestic relations 1205
division. 1206

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 1207
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1208
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 1209
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, shall 1210
include the handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, 1211
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases and 1212
providing any counseling and conciliation services that the 1213
division makes available to persons, whether or not the persons 1214
are parties to an action pending in the division, who request the 1215
services. 1216

       (R) In Warren county, the judge of the court of common pleas, 1217
whose term begins January 1, 1987, and successors, shall have the 1218
same qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, 1219
and receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court 1220
of common pleas of Warren county and shall be elected and 1221
designated as judge of the court of common pleas, division of 1222
domestic relations. The judge shall be assigned all divorce, 1223
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases 1224
coming before the court, except in cases that for some special 1225
reason are assigned to some other judge of the court of common 1226
pleas. The judge shall be charged with the assignment and division 1227
of the work of the division and with the employment and 1228
supervision of all other personnel of the domestic relations 1229
division. 1230

       The judge also shall designate the title, compensation, 1231
expense allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1232
personnel of the division and shall fix their duties. The duties 1233
of the personnel, in addition to other statutory duties, shall 1234
include the handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, 1235
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases and 1236
providing any counseling and conciliation services that the 1237
division makes available to persons, whether or not the persons 1238
are parties to an action pending in the division, who request the 1239
services. 1240

       (S) In Licking county, the judges of the court of common 1241
pleas, whose terms begin on January 1, 1991, and January 1, 2005, 1242
and successors, shall have the same qualifications, exercise the 1243
same powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as 1244
the other judges of the court of common pleas of Licking county 1245
and shall be elected and designated as judges of the court of 1246
common pleas, division of domestic relations. The judges shall be 1247
assigned all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, 1248
and annulment cases, all cases arising under Chapter 3111. of the 1249
Revised Code, all proceedings involving child support, the 1250
allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of 1251
children and the designation for the children of a place of 1252
residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and visitation, and 1253
all post-decree proceedings and matters arising from those cases 1254
and proceedings, except in cases that for some special reason are 1255
assigned to another judge of the court of common pleas. The 1256
administrative judge of the division of domestic relations shall 1257
be charged with the assignment and division of the work of the 1258
division and with the employment and supervision of the personnel 1259
of the division. 1260

       The administrative judge of the division of domestic 1261
relations shall designate the title, compensation, expense 1262
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1263
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 1264
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel of the 1265
division, in addition to other statutory duties, shall include the 1266
handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of 1267
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, cases arising 1268
under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, and proceedings involving 1269
child support, the allocation of parental rights and 1270
responsibilities for the care of children and the designation for 1271
the children of a place of residence and legal custodian, 1272
parenting time, and visitation and providing any counseling and 1273
conciliation services that the division makes available to 1274
persons, whether or not the persons are parties to an action 1275
pending in the division, who request the services. 1276

       (T) In Allen county, the judge of the court of common pleas, 1277
whose term begins January 1, 1993, and successors, shall have the 1278
same qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, 1279
and receive the same compensation as the other judges of the court 1280
of common pleas of Allen county and shall be elected and 1281
designated as judge of the court of common pleas, division of 1282
domestic relations. The judge shall be assigned all divorce, 1283
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, 1284
all cases arising under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, all 1285
proceedings involving child support, the allocation of parental 1286
rights and responsibilities for the care of children and the 1287
designation for the children of a place of residence and legal 1288
custodian, parenting time, and visitation, and all post-decree 1289
proceedings and matters arising from those cases and proceedings, 1290
except in cases that for some special reason are assigned to 1291
another judge of the court of common pleas. The judge shall be 1292
charged with the assignment and division of the work of the 1293
division and with the employment and supervision of the personnel 1294
of the division. 1295

       The judge shall designate the title, compensation, expense 1296
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1297
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 1298
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel of the 1299
division, in addition to other statutory duties, shall include the 1300
handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of 1301
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, cases arising 1302
under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, and proceedings involving 1303
child support, the allocation of parental rights and 1304
responsibilities for the care of children and the designation for 1305
the children of a place of residence and legal custodian, 1306
parenting time, and visitation, and providing any counseling and 1307
conciliation services that the division makes available to 1308
persons, whether or not the persons are parties to an action 1309
pending in the division, who request the services. 1310

       (U) In Medina county, the judge of the court of common pleas 1311
whose term begins January 1, 1995, and successors, shall have the 1312
same qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, 1313
and receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 1314
common pleas of Medina county and shall be elected and designated 1315
as judge of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 1316
relations. The judge shall be assigned all divorce, dissolution of 1317
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, all cases arising 1318
under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, all proceedings involving 1319
child support, the allocation of parental rights and 1320
responsibilities for the care of children and the designation for 1321
the children of a place of residence and legal custodian, 1322
parenting time, and visitation, and all post-decree proceedings 1323
and matters arising from those cases and proceedings, except in 1324
cases that for some special reason are assigned to another judge 1325
of the court of common pleas. The judge shall be charged with the 1326
assignment and division of the work of the division and with the 1327
employment and supervision of the personnel of the division. 1328

       The judge shall designate the title, compensation, expense 1329
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1330
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 1331
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel, in 1332
addition to other statutory duties, include the handling, 1333
servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of marriage, 1334
legal separation, and annulment cases, cases arising under Chapter 1335
3111. of the Revised Code, and proceedings involving child 1336
support, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities 1337
for the care of children and the designation for the children of a 1338
place of residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and 1339
visitation, and providing counseling and conciliation services 1340
that the division makes available to persons, whether or not the 1341
persons are parties to an action pending in the division, who 1342
request the services. 1343

       (V) In Fairfield county, the judge of the court of common 1344
pleas whose term begins January 2, 1995, and successors, shall 1345
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 1346
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the other 1347
judges of the court of common pleas of Fairfield county and shall 1348
be elected and designated as judge of the court of common pleas, 1349
division of domestic relations. The judge shall be assigned all 1350
divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment 1351
cases, all cases arising under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, 1352
all proceedings involving child support, the allocation of 1353
parental rights and responsibilities for the care of children and 1354
the designation for the children of a place of residence and legal 1355
custodian, parenting time, and visitation, and all post-decree 1356
proceedings and matters arising from those cases and proceedings, 1357
except in cases that for some special reason are assigned to 1358
another judge of the court of common pleas. The judge also has 1359
concurrent jurisdiction with the probate-juvenile division of the 1360
court of common pleas of Fairfield county with respect to and may 1361
hear cases to determine the custody of a child, as defined in 1362
section 2151.011 of the Revised Code, who is not the ward of 1363
another court of this state, cases that are commenced by a parent, 1364
guardian, or custodian of a child, as defined in section 2151.011 1365
of the Revised Code, to obtain an order requiring a parent of the 1366
child to pay child support for that child when the request for 1367
that order is not ancillary to an action for divorce, dissolution 1368
of marriage, annulment, or legal separation, a criminal or civil 1369
action involving an allegation of domestic violence, an action for 1370
support under Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code, or an action that 1371
is within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the 1372
probate-juvenile division of the court of common pleas of 1373
Fairfield county and that involves an allegation that the child is 1374
an abused, neglected, or dependent child, and post-decree 1375
proceedings and matters arising from those types of cases. 1376

       The judge of the domestic relations division shall be charged 1377
with the assignment and division of the work of the division and 1378
with the employment and supervision of the personnel of the 1379
division. 1380

       The judge shall designate the title, compensation, expense 1381
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1382
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 1383
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel of the 1384
division, in addition to other statutory duties, shall include the 1385
handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of 1386
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, cases arising 1387
under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, and proceedings involving 1388
child support, the allocation of parental rights and 1389
responsibilities for the care of children and the designation for 1390
the children of a place of residence and legal custodian, 1391
parenting time, and visitation, and providing any counseling and 1392
conciliation services that the division makes available to 1393
persons, regardless of whether the persons are parties to an 1394
action pending in the division, who request the services. When the 1395
judge hears a case to determine the custody of a child, as defined 1396
in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code, who is not the ward of 1397
another court of this state or a case that is commenced by a 1398
parent, guardian, or custodian of a child, as defined in section 1399
2151.011 of the Revised Code, to obtain an order requiring a 1400
parent of the child to pay child support for that child when the 1401
request for that order is not ancillary to an action for divorce, 1402
dissolution of marriage, annulment, or legal separation, a 1403
criminal or civil action involving an allegation of domestic 1404
violence, an action for support under Chapter 3115. of the Revised 1405
Code, or an action that is within the exclusive original 1406
jurisdiction of the probate-juvenile division of the court of 1407
common pleas of Fairfield county and that involves an allegation 1408
that the child is an abused, neglected, or dependent child, the 1409
duties of the personnel of the domestic relations division also 1410
include the handling, servicing, and investigation of those types 1411
of cases. 1412

       (W)(1) In Clark county, the judge of the court of common 1413
pleas whose term begins on January 2, 1995, and successors, shall 1414
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 1415
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as other judges of 1416
the court of common pleas of Clark county and shall be elected and 1417
designated as judge of the court of common pleas, domestic 1418
relations division. The judge shall have all the powers relating 1419
to juvenile courts, and all cases under Chapters 2151. and 2152. 1420
of the Revised Code and all parentage proceedings under Chapter 1421
3111. of the Revised Code over which the juvenile court has 1422
jurisdiction shall be assigned to the judge of the division of 1423
domestic relations. All divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1424
separation, annulment, uniform reciprocal support enforcement, and 1425
other cases related to domestic relations shall be assigned to the 1426
domestic relations division, and the presiding judge of the court 1427
of common pleas shall assign the cases to the judge of the 1428
domestic relations division and the judges of the general 1429
division. 1430

       (2) In addition to the judge's regular duties, the judge of 1431
the division of domestic relations shall serve on the children 1432
services board and the county advisory board. 1433

       (3) If the judge of the court of common pleas of Clark 1434
county, division of domestic relations, is sick, absent, or unable 1435
to perform that judge's judicial duties or if the presiding judge 1436
of the court of common pleas of Clark county determines that the 1437
volume of cases pending in the division of domestic relations 1438
necessitates it, the duties of the judge of the division of 1439
domestic relations shall be performed by the judges of the general 1440
division or probate division of the court of common pleas of Clark 1441
county, as assigned for that purpose by the presiding judge of 1442
that court, and the judges so assigned shall act in conjunction 1443
with the judge of the division of domestic relations of that 1444
court. 1445

       (X) In Scioto county, the judge of the court of common pleas 1446
whose term begins January 2, 1995, and successors, shall have the 1447
same qualifications, exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, 1448
and receive the same compensation as other judges of the court of 1449
common pleas of Scioto county and shall be elected and designated 1450
as judge of the court of common pleas, division of domestic 1451
relations. The judge shall be assigned all divorce, dissolution of 1452
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, all cases arising 1453
under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, all proceedings involving 1454
child support, the allocation of parental rights and 1455
responsibilities for the care of children and the designation for 1456
the children of a place of residence and legal custodian, 1457
parenting time, visitation, and all post-decree proceedings and 1458
matters arising from those cases and proceedings, except in cases 1459
that for some special reason are assigned to another judge of the 1460
court of common pleas. The judge shall be charged with the 1461
assignment and division of the work of the division and with the 1462
employment and supervision of the personnel of the division. 1463

       The judge shall designate the title, compensation, expense 1464
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1465
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 1466
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel, in 1467
addition to other statutory duties, include the handling, 1468
servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of marriage, 1469
legal separation, and annulment cases, cases arising under Chapter 1470
3111. of the Revised Code, and proceedings involving child 1471
support, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities 1472
for the care of children and the designation for the children of a 1473
place of residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and 1474
visitation, and providing counseling and conciliation services 1475
that the division makes available to persons, whether or not the 1476
persons are parties to an action pending in the division, who 1477
request the services. 1478

       (Y) In Auglaize county, the judge of the probate and juvenile 1479
divisions of the Auglaize county court of common pleas also shall 1480
be the administrative judge of the domestic relations division of 1481
the court and shall be assigned all divorce, dissolution of 1482
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases coming before the 1483
court. The judge shall have all powers as administrator of the 1484
domestic relations division and shall have charge of the personnel 1485
engaged in handling, servicing, or investigating divorce, 1486
dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, 1487
including any referees considered necessary for the discharge of 1488
the judge's various duties. 1489

       (Z)(1) In Marion county, the judge of the court of common 1490
pleas whose term begins on February 9, 1999, and the successors to 1491
that judge, shall have the same qualifications, exercise the same 1492
powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the 1493
other judges of the court of common pleas of Marion county and 1494
shall be elected and designated as judge of the court of common 1495
pleas, domestic relations-juvenile-probate division. Except as 1496
otherwise specified in this division, that judge, and the 1497
successors to that judge, shall have all the powers relating to 1498
juvenile courts, and all cases under Chapters 2151. and 2152. of 1499
the Revised Code, all cases arising under Chapter 3111. of the 1500
Revised Code, all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1501
separation, and annulment cases, all proceedings involving child 1502
support, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities 1503
for the care of children and the designation for the children of a 1504
place of residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and 1505
visitation, and all post-decree proceedings and matters arising 1506
from those cases and proceedings shall be assigned to that judge 1507
and the successors to that judge. Except as provided in division 1508
(Z)(2) of this section and notwithstanding any other provision of 1509
any section of the Revised Code, on and after February 9, 2003, 1510
the judge of the court of common pleas of Marion county whose term 1511
begins on February 9, 1999, and the successors to that judge, 1512
shall have all the powers relating to the probate division of the 1513
court of common pleas of Marion county in addition to the powers 1514
previously specified in this division, and shall exercise 1515
concurrent jurisdiction with the judge of the probate division of 1516
that court over all matters that are within the jurisdiction of 1517
the probate division of that court under Chapter 2101., and other 1518
provisions, of the Revised Code in addition to the jurisdiction of 1519
the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division of that court 1520
otherwise specified in division (Z)(1) of this section. 1521

       (2) The judge of the domestic relations-juvenile-probate 1522
division of the court of common pleas of Marion county or the 1523
judge of the probate division of the court of common pleas of 1524
Marion county, whichever of those judges is senior in total length 1525
of service on the court of common pleas of Marion county, 1526
regardless of the division or divisions of service, shall serve as 1527
the clerk of the probate division of the court of common pleas of 1528
Marion county. 1529

       (3) On and after February 9, 2003, all references in law to 1530
"the probate court," "the probate judge," "the juvenile court," or 1531
"the judge of the juvenile court" shall be construed, with respect 1532
to Marion county, as being references to both "the probate 1533
division" and "the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division" 1534
and as being references to both "the judge of the probate 1535
division" and "the judge of the domestic relations- 1536
juvenile-probate division." On and after February 9, 2003, all 1537
references in law to "the clerk of the probate court" shall be 1538
construed, with respect to Marion county, as being references to 1539
the judge who is serving pursuant to division (Z)(2) of this 1540
section as the clerk of the probate division of the court of 1541
common pleas of Marion county. 1542

       (AA) In Muskingum county, the judge of the court of common 1543
pleas whose term begins on January 2, 2003, and successors, shall 1544
have the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 1545
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the other 1546
judges of the court of common pleas of Muskingum county and shall 1547
be elected and designated as the judge of the court of common 1548
pleas, division of domestic relations. The judge shall be assigned 1549
all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, and 1550
annulment cases, all cases arising under Chapter 3111. of the 1551
Revised Code, all proceedings involving child support, the 1552
allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of 1553
children and the designation for the children of a place of 1554
residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and visitation, and 1555
all post-decree proceedings and matters arising from those cases 1556
and proceedings, except in cases that for some special reason are 1557
assigned to another judge of the court of common pleas. The judge 1558
shall be charged with the assignment and division of the work of 1559
the division and with the employment and supervision of the 1560
personnel of the division. 1561

       The judge shall designate the title, compensation, expense 1562
allowances, hours, leaves of absence, and vacations of the 1563
personnel of the division and shall fix the duties of the 1564
personnel of the division. The duties of the personnel of the 1565
division, in addition to other statutory duties, shall include the 1566
handling, servicing, and investigation of divorce, dissolution of 1567
marriage, legal separation, and annulment cases, cases arising 1568
under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code, and proceedings involving 1569
child support, the allocation of parental rights and 1570
responsibilities for the care of children and the designation for 1571
the children of a place of residence and legal custodian, 1572
parenting time, and visitation and providing any counseling and 1573
conciliation services that the division makes available to 1574
persons, whether or not the persons are parties to an action 1575
pending in the division, who request the services. 1576

       (BB) In Henry county, the judge of the court of common pleas 1577
whose term begins on January 1, 2005, and successors, shall have 1578
the same qualifications, exercise the same powers and 1579
jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the other judge 1580
of the court of common pleas of Henry county and shall be elected 1581
and designated as the judge of the court of common pleas, division 1582
of domestic relations. The judge shall have all of the powers 1583
relating to juvenile courts, and all cases under Chapter 2151. or 1584
2152. of the Revised Code, all parentage proceedings arising under 1585
Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code over which the juvenile court 1586
has jurisdiction, all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1587
separation, and annulment cases, all proceedings involving child 1588
support, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities 1589
for the care of children and the designation for the children of a 1590
place of residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and 1591
visitation, and all post-decree proceedings and matters arising 1592
from those cases and proceedings shall be assigned to that judge, 1593
except in cases that for some special reason are assigned to the 1594
other judge of the court of common pleas. 1595

       (CC)(1) In Logan county, the judge of the court of common 1596
pleas whose term begins January 2, 2005, and the successors to 1597
that judge, shall have the same qualifications, exercise the same 1598
powers and jurisdiction, and receive the same compensation as the 1599
other judges of the court of common pleas of Logan county and 1600
shall be elected and designated as judge of the court of common 1601
pleas, domestic relations-juvenile-probate division. Except as 1602
otherwise specified in this division, that judge, and the 1603
successors to that judge, shall have all the powers relating to 1604
juvenile courts, and all cases under Chapters 2151. and 2152. of 1605
the Revised Code, all cases arising under Chapter 3111. of the 1606
Revised Code, all divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal 1607
separation, and annulment cases, all proceedings involving child 1608
support, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities 1609
for the care of children and designation for the children of a 1610
place of residence and legal custodian, parenting time, and 1611
visitation, and all post-decree proceedings and matters arising 1612
from those cases and proceedings shall be assigned to that judge 1613
and the successors to that judge. Notwithstanding any other 1614
provision of any section of the Revised Code, on and after January 1615
2, 2005, the judge of the court of common pleas of Logan county 1616
whose term begins on January 2, 2005, and the successors to that 1617
judge, shall have all the powers relating to the probate division 1618
of the court of common pleas of Logan county in addition to the 1619
powers previously specified in this division and shall exercise 1620
concurrent jurisdiction with the judge of the probate division of 1621
that court over all matters that are within the jurisdiction of 1622
the probate division of that court under Chapter 2101., and other 1623
provisions, of the Revised Code in addition to the jurisdiction of 1624
the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division of that court 1625
otherwise specified in division (CC)(1) of this section. 1626

        (2) The judge of the domestic relations-juvenile-probate 1627
division of the court of common pleas of Logan county or the 1628
probate judge of the court of common pleas of Logan county who is 1629
elected as the administrative judge of the probate division of the 1630
court of common pleas of Logan county pursuant to Rule 4 of the 1631
Rules of Superintendence shall be the clerk of the probate 1632
division and juvenile division of the court of common pleas of 1633
Logan county. The clerk of the court of common pleas who is 1634
elected pursuant to section 2303.01 of the Revised Code shall keep 1635
all of the journals, records, books, papers, and files pertaining 1636
to the domestic relations cases. 1637

        (3) On and after January 2, 2005, all references in law to 1638
"the probate court," "the probate judge," "the juvenile court," or 1639
"the judge of the juvenile court" shall be construed, with respect 1640
to Logan county, as being references to both "the probate 1641
division" and the "domestic relations-juvenile-probate division" 1642
and as being references to both "the judge of the probate 1643
division" and the "judge of the domestic 1644
relations-juvenile-probate division." On and after January 2, 1645
2005, all references in law to "the clerk of the probate court" 1646
shall be construed, with respect to Logan county, as being 1647
references to the judge who is serving pursuant to division 1648
(CC)(2) of this section as the clerk of the probate division of 1649
the court of common pleas of Logan county. 1650

       (DD) If a judge of the court of common pleas, division of 1651
domestic relations, or juvenile judge, of any of the counties 1652
mentioned in this section is sick, absent, or unable to perform 1653
that judge's judicial duties or the volume of cases pending in the 1654
judge's division necessitates it, the duties of that judge shall 1655
be performed by another judge of the court of common pleas of that 1656
county, assigned for that purpose by the presiding judge of the 1657
court of common pleas of that county to act in place of or in 1658
conjunction with that judge, as the case may require. 1659

       Section 2. That existing sections 2101.01, 2301.02, and 1660
2301.03 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 1661

Section 1. That sections 2101.01, 2301.02, and 2301.03 of the	17
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:	18

Sec. 2101.01. (A) A probate division of the court of common	19
pleas shall be held at the county seat in each county in an office	20
furnished by the board of county commissioners, in which the	21
books, records, and papers pertaining to the probate division	22
shall be deposited and safely kept by the probate judge. The board	23
shall provide suitable cases or other necessary items for the	24
safekeeping and preservation of the books, records, and papers of	25
the court and shall furnish any blankbooks, blanks, and	26
stationery, and any machines, equipment, and materials for the	27
keeping or examining of records, that the probate judge requires	28
in the discharge of official duties. The board also shall	29
authorize expenditures for accountants, financial consultants, and	30
other agents required for auditing or financial consulting by the	31
probate division whenever the probate judge considers these	32
services and expenditures necessary for the efficient performance	33
of the division's duties. The probate judge shall employ and	34
supervise all clerks, deputies, magistrates, and other employees	35
of the probate division. The probate judge shall supervise all	36
probate court investigators and assessors in the performance of	37
their duties as investigators and assessors and shall employ,	38
appoint, or designate all probate court investigators and	39
assessors in the manner described in divisions (A)(2) and (3) of	40
section 2101.11 of the Revised Code.	41

(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section,	43
"probate court" means the probate division of the court of common	44
pleas, and "probate judge" means the judge of the court of common	45
pleas who is judge of the probate division. ~~All~~	46

(a) From January 1, 2006, through February 8, 2009, "probate	48
court" means both the probate division and the domestic relations	49
division of the court of common pleas, and "probate judge" means	50
both the judge of the court of common pleas who is judge of the	51
probate division and each of the judges of the court of common	52
pleas who are judges of the domestic relations division.	53

(b) On and after February 9, 2009, "probate court" means the	54
domestic relations division of the court of common pleas, and	55
"probate judge" means each of the judges of the court of common	56
pleas who are judges of the domestic relations division.	57

(C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, all	58
pleadings, forms, journals, and other records filed or used in the	59
probate division shall be entitled "In the Court of Common Pleas,	60
Probate Division," but are not defective if entitled "In the	61
Probate Court." In Lorain county, on and after February 9, 2009,	62
all pleadings, forms, journals, and other records filed or used in	63
probate matters shall be entitled "In the Court of Common Pleas,	64
Domestic Relations Division," but are not defective if entitled	65
"In the Probate Division" or "In the Probate Court."	66

Sec. 2301.02. The number of judges of the court of common	67
pleas for each county, the time for the next election of the	68
judges in the several counties, and the beginning of their terms	69
shall be as follows:	70

(A) In Adams, Ashland, Fayette, and Pike counties, one judge,	71
elected in 1956, term to begin February 9, 1957;	72

In Brown, Crawford, Defiance, Highland, Holmes, Morgan,	73
Ottawa, and Union counties, one judge, to be elected in 1954, term	74
to begin February 9, 1955;	75

In Auglaize county, one judge, to be elected in 1956, term to	76
begin January 9, 1957;	77

In Coshocton, Darke, Fulton, Gallia, Guernsey, Hardin,	78
Jackson, Knox, Madison, Mercer, Monroe, ~~Morrow,~~ Paulding, Vinton,	79
and Wyandot counties, one judge, to be elected in 1956, term to	80
begin January 1, 1957;	81

In Morrow county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term	82
to begin January 1, 1957, and one to be elected in 2006, term to	83
begin January 1, 2007;	84

In Logan county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term	85
to begin January 1, 1957, and one to be elected in 2004, term to	86
begin January 2, 2005;	87

In Carroll, Champaign, Clinton, Hocking, Meigs, Pickaway,	88
Preble, Shelby, Van Wert, and Williams counties, one judge, to be	89
elected in 1952, term to begin January 1, 1953;	90

In Harrison and Noble counties, one judge, to be elected in	91
1954, term to begin April 18, 1955;	92

In Henry county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term	93
to begin May 9, 1957, and one to be elected in 2004, term to begin	94
January 1, 2005;	95

In Putnam county, one judge, to be elected in 1956, term to	96
begin May 9, 1957;	97

In Huron county, one judge, to be elected in 1952, term to	98
begin May 14, 1953;	99

In Perry county, one judge, to be elected in 1954, term to	100
begin July 6, 1956;	101

In Sandusky county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954,	102
term to begin February 10, 1955, and one to be elected in 1978,	103
term to begin January 1, 1979;	104

(B) In Allen county, three judges, one to be elected in 1956,	105
term to begin February 9, 1957, the second to be elected in 1958,	106
term to begin January 1, 1959, and the third to be elected in	107
1992, term to begin January 1, 1993;	108

In Ashtabula county, three judges, one to be elected in 1954,	109
term to begin February 9, 1955, one to be elected in 1960, term to	110
begin January 1, 1961, and one to be elected in 1978, term to	111
begin January 2, 1979;	112

In Athens county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954, term	113
to begin February 9, 1955, and one to be elected in 1990, term to	114
begin July 1, 1991;	115

In Erie county, four judges, one to be elected in 1956, term	116
to begin January 1, 1957, the second to be elected in 1970, term	117
to begin January 2, 1971, the third to be elected in 2004, term to	118
begin January 2, 2005, and the fourth to be elected in 2008, term	119
to begin February 9, 2009;	120

In Fairfield county, three judges, one to be elected in 1954,	121
term to begin February 9, 1955, the second to be elected in 1970,	122
term to begin January 1, 1971, and the third to be elected in	123
1994, term to begin January 2, 1995;	124

In Geauga county, two judges, one to be elected in 1956, term	125
to begin January 1, 1957, and the second to be elected in 1976,	126
term to begin January 6, 1977;	127

In Greene county, four judges, one to be elected in 1956,	128
term to begin February 9, 1957, the second to be elected in 1960,	129
term to begin January 1, 1961, the third to be elected in 1978,	130
term to begin January 2, 1979, and the fourth to be elected in	131
1994, term to begin January 1, 1995;	132

In Hancock county, two judges, one to be elected in 1952,	133
term to begin January 1, 1953, and the second to be elected in	134
1978, term to begin January 1, 1979;	135

In Lawrence county, two judges, one to be elected in 1954,	136
term to begin February 9, 1955, and the second to be elected in	137
1976, term to begin January 1, 1977;	138

In Marion county, three judges, one to be elected in 1952,	139
term to begin January 1, 1953, the second to be elected in 1976,	140
term to begin January 2, 1977, and the third to be elected in	141
1998, term to begin February 9, 1999;	142