Rule 2 Criminal Housing

Criminal Housing

(A) All criminal cases regarding violations of the City of Toledo’s Building, Housing, Fire, Health, Sanitation, Safety, Zoning, Sidewalk, Environmental, and Title VII Business Codes shall be assigned to the Housing Division for adjudication.

(B) Service

1. Criminal summons and complaints (other than minor misdemeanor citations), including an arraignment date, shall be served on defendants by certified mail from the Clerk.

2. Pursuant to Crim. R. 4 and 4.1, the Court may obtain a defendant’s appearance either by serving a summons upon the defendant or by issuing a warrant for the defendant’s arrest.

3. When a defendant is notified of an outstanding arrest warrant and voluntarily reports to the Court as a result of this notification, the Court shall schedule a new court date by preparing and journalizing a judgment entry. The judgment entry may also recall any outstanding warrant and require the defendant to post bond, as determined by the judge. The Court shall inform the defendant of the new court date when the warrant is recalled and any required bond has been posted.

(C) Motions

1. All motions, except those made during trial or hearing, shall be made in writing. Motions shall be filed within the time limits established by the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure. Where a continuance is sought because counsel is scheduled to appear in another case assigned for the same date and same time, the motion must include an attached copy of the conflicting assignment.

2. A party shall not file a motion prior to the entry of a plea, except those motions listed as exceptions in Crim. R. 12.

3. A copy of any motion filed with the Clerk must also be delivered contemporaneously to both the judge and the prosecutor of the City of Toledo Law Department, 555 N Erie St., Room 405, Toledo, Ohio 43604. Failure to deliver a copy, as indicated herein, shall constitute a failure to file and may be grounds for striking the motion.

4. Upon the filing of a motion, the Clerk shall time-stamp and file the motion, and forward the motion and the case file to the Housing Division within three (3) business days.

5. To expedite its business, the Court may rule upon motions based upon the briefs, memoranda, and supporting affidavits, if any, without an oral hearing.

6. Pretrial motions shall be ruled on within one hundred twenty (120) days of filing. Post-judgment motions shall be ruled upon within forty-five (45) days of filing.

(D) Trial

1. Every case not resolved at arraignment or pretrial shall be set for trial. Where the maximum sentence is One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150) or less, there is no right to a jury trial and the case shall be tried by the Court. Where the right to a jury trial does exist, a written demand must be made. If a jury demand is timely filed, the case shall be set for jury trial.