Section 1901.21. Criminal and civil procedure - bond

(A) In a criminal case or proceeding, the practice, procedure, and mode of bringing and conducting prosecutions for offenses shall be as provided in the criminal rules, and the power of the court in relation to the prosecution is the same as the power that is conferred upon county courts.

In any civil case or proceeding for which no special provision is made in this chapter, the practice and procedure in the case or proceeding shall be the same as in courts of common pleas. If no practice or procedure for the case or proceeding is provided for in the courts of common pleas, then the practice or procedure of county courts shall apply.

(B) In the Cleveland municipal court, all bonds for the appearance of a defendant charged with an offense, when the offense is bailable, shall be entered into before the clerk of the municipal court and approved by him; and the surety in them shall be qualified by the clerk. One surety in every such bond shall be a resident within the jurisdiction of the court; the sureties shall own property worth double the sum to be secured and shall have real estate within Cuyahoga county liable to execution of a value equal to the sum to be secured; and when two or more sureties are offered to the same bond, they shall have in the aggregate the qualification prescribed. The bond shall require the defendant to appear before the court to answer the charge against him, or before the court of common pleas when the defendant is held to the grand jury.

The bond shall clearly disclose the full name of each surety, together with the residence address, and there shall be indorsed on it a brief, but pertinent, description of the real estate owned by each surety.

When the bond is entered into, approved, and accepted, it becomes a subsisting lien on the real estate of the surety in it, upon which he has qualified, until the bond has been exonerated or discharged.

A copy of every such bond, certified under the seal of the court by the clerk as a true copy, shall be filed by him with the county recorder of Cuyahoga county forthwith unless in the meantime the defendant has been acquitted or discharged by the court. The recorder shall provide a suitable record book, properly indexed, in which he shall record all bonds certified to him. The recorder shall be entitled to receive from the clerk, such fees and record charges as are now authorized by law for recording deeds and mortgages; and such fees and charges shall be taxed by the clerk in the costs of the respective cases, and shall be paid to the recorder by the clerk from funds in his hands upon certified vouchers or bills rendered by the recorder.

The clerk shall transmit to the recorder each day a certified list, under the seal of the court, of all bonds which have been exonerated or discharged, and the recorder shall note on the margin of the record of each bond the discharge or satisfaction of it, and the lien on the real estate of the surety in such bond shall thereby be canceled and discharged.

The clerk shall not approve or accept as surety, on any such bond, any person who is then liable on any bond previously executed in the municipal court, unless it appears to the satisfaction of the clerk that the person offering himself as surety has sufficient equity in his real estate over and above his liability on the prior bonds, to justify the subsequent bond, or unless the prior bonds have been exonerated and discharged.

The clerk may tax in the costs of the case, such fees for making the copies and certificates required in this section as the court by rule provides.

In all misdemeanor cases, the clerk, in lieu of the sureties required by this section, may accept a deposit of money, in United States legal tender, in an amount equal to the penal sum stipulated in the bond, and in any felony case a judge of the municipal court may direct the clerk to accept such a deposit in an amount fixed by the judge, which amount shall be the sum stipulated in the bond, and such deposit shall be retained by the clerk as security on it until the bond has been exonerated and discharged. If any such bond is forfeited, the clerk shall apply the money so deposited in satisfaction of any judgment that may be rendered on the bond, and the depositor of such fund shall surrender and forfeit all right in and to the deposit to the extent of such judgment.

Effective Date: 04-19-1988