Section 1901.32. Bailiffs

(A) The bailiffs and deputy bailiffs of a municipal court shall be provided for, and their duties are, as follows:

(1) Except for the Hamilton county municipal court, the court shall appoint a bailiff who shall receive the annual compensation that the court prescribes payable in either biweekly installments or semimonthly installments, as determined by the payroll administrator, from the same sources and in the same manner as provided in section 1901.11 of the Revised Code. The court may provide that the chief of police of the municipal corporation or a member of the police force be appointed by the court to be the bailiff of the court. Before entering upon the duties of office, the bailiff shall take an oath to faithfully perform the duties of the office and shall give a bond of not less than three thousand dollars, as the legislative authority prescribes, conditioned for the faithful performance the duties of chief bailiff.

(2) Except for the Hamilton county municipal court, deputy bailiffs may be appointed by the court. Deputy bailiffs shall receive the compensation payable in semimonthly installments out of the city treasury that the court prescribes, except that the compensation of deputy bailiffs in a county-operated municipal court shall be paid out of the treasury of the county in which the court is located. Each deputy bailiff shall give a bond in an amount not less than one thousand dollars, and, when so qualified, may perform the duties pertaining to the office of chief bailiff of the court.

(3) The bailiff and all deputy bailiffs of the Hamilton county municipal court shall be appointed by the clerk and shall receive the compensation payable in semimonthly installments out of the treasury of Hamilton county that the clerk prescribes. Each judge of the Hamilton county municipal court may appoint a courtroom bailiff, each of whom shall receive the compensation payable in semimonthly installments out of the treasury of Hamilton county that the court prescribes.

(4) The legislative authority may purchase motor vehicles for the use of the bailiffs and deputy bailiffs as the court determines they need to perform the duties of their office. All expenses, maintenance, and upkeep of the vehicles shall be paid by the legislative authority upon approval by the court. Any allowances, costs, and expenses for the operation of private motor vehicles by bailiffs and deputy bailiffs for official duties, including the cost of oil, gasoline, and maintenance, shall be prescribed by the court and, subject to the approval of the legislative authority, shall be paid from the city treasury, except that the allowances, costs, and expenses for the bailiffs and deputy bailiffs of a county-operated municipal court shall be paid from the treasury of the county in which the court is located.

(5) Every police officer of any municipal corporation and police constable of a township within the territory of the court is ex officio a deputy bailiff of the court in and for the municipal corporation or township in which commissioned as a police officer or police constable, and shall perform any duties in respect to cases within the officer's or constable's jurisdiction that are required by a judge of the court, or by the clerk or a bailiff or deputy bailiff of the court, without additional compensation.

(6) In Putnam county, in addition to the persons who are ex officio deputy bailiffs under division (A)(5) of this section, every deputy sheriff of Putnam county is ex officio a deputy bailiff of the Putnam county municipal court and shall perform without additional compensation any duties in respect to cases within the deputy sheriff's jurisdiction that are required by a judge of the court, by the clerk of the court, or by a bailiff or deputy bailiff of the court.

(7) The bailiff and deputy bailiffs shall perform for the court services similar to those performed by the sheriff for the court of common pleas and shall perform any other duties that are requested by rule of court.

The bailiff or deputy bailiff may administer oaths to witnesses and jurors and receive verdicts in the same manner and form and to the same extent as the clerk or deputy clerks of the court. The bailiff may approve all undertakings and bonds given in actions of replevin and all redelivery bonds in attachments.

(B) In the Cleveland municipal court, the chief clerks and all deputy clerks are in the classified civil service of the city of Cleveland. The clerk, the chief deputy clerks, the probation officers, one private secretary, one personal stenographer to the clerk, and one personal bailiff to each judge are in the unclassified civil service of the city of Cleveland. Upon demand of the clerk, the civil service commission of the city of Cleveland shall certify a list of those eligible for the position of deputy clerk. From the list, the clerk shall designate chief clerks and the number of deputy clerks that the legislative authority determines are necessary.

Except as otherwise provided in this division, the bailiff, chief deputy bailiffs, and all deputy bailiffs of the Cleveland municipal court appointed after January 1, 1968, and the chief housing specialist, housing specialists, and housing division referees of the housing division of the Cleveland municipal court appointed under section 1901.331 of the Revised Code are in the unclassified civil service of the city of Cleveland. All deputy bailiffs of the housing division of the Cleveland municipal court appointed pursuant to that section are in the classified civil service of the city of Cleveland. Upon the demand of the judge of the housing division of the Cleveland municipal court, the civil service commission of the city of Cleveland shall certify a list of those eligible for the position of deputy bailiff of the housing division. From the list, the judge of the housing division shall designate the number of deputy bailiffs that the judge determines are necessary.

The chief deputy clerks, the chief clerks, and all other deputy clerks of the Cleveland municipal court shall receive the compensation that the clerk prescribes. Except as provided in division (A)(4)(a) of section 1901.331 of the Revised Code with respect to officers and employees of the housing division of the Cleveland municipal court, the bailiff, all deputy bailiffs, and assignment room personnel of the Cleveland municipal court shall receive the compensation that the court prescribes.

Any appointee under sections 1901.01 to 1901.37 of the Revised Code may be dismissed or discharged by the same power that appointed the appointee. In the case of the removal of any civil service appointee under those sections, an appeal may be taken from the decision of the civil service commission to the court of common pleas of Cuyahoga county to determine the sufficiency of the cause of removal. The appeal shall be taken within ten days of the finding of the commission.

In the Cleveland municipal court, the presiding judge may appoint on a full-time, per diem, or contractual basis any official court reporters for the civil branch of the court that the business of the court requires. The compensation of official court reporters shall be determined by the presiding judge of the court. The compensation shall be payable from the city treasury and from the treasury of Cuyahoga county in the same proportion as designated in section 1901.11 of the Revised Code for the payment of compensation of municipal judges. In every trial in which the services of a court reporter so appointed are requested by the judge, any party, or the attorney for any party, there shall be taxed for each day's services of the court reporter a fee in the same amount as may be taxed for similar services in the court of common pleas under section 2301.21 of the Revised Code, to be collected as other costs in the case. The fees so collected shall be paid quarterly by the clerk into the city treasury and the treasury of Cuyahoga county in the same proportion as the compensation for the court reporters is paid from the city and county treasuries and shall be credited to the general funds of the city and county treasuries.

(C) In the Hamilton county municipal court, all employees, including the bailiff, deputy bailiff, and courtroom bailiffs, are in the unclassified civil service.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.52, HB 338, §1, eff. 1/1/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.37, HB 238, §1, eff. 1/1/2011.

Effective Date: 06-08-1994; 06-30-2006