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Court History
In 1848, Morrow County was formed from the lands of Richland, Marion, Delaware, and Knox Counties. The first day of court for the newly formed county was held on May 31, 1848, in the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas, by the Honorable Ozias Bowen. With a population of 20,280 in 1850, Judge Bowen had three Associate Judges to assist him in hearing the cases before the Court. During the last century the following Judges have served Morrow County: | Honorable C.H. Woods | 1915-1927 | | Honorable W.P. Vaughn | 1927-1933 | | Honorable P.H. Wieland | 1933-1942 | | Honorable Benj Olds | 1943-1945 | | Honorable Leland Rutherford | 1945-1961 | | Honorable Harry Mettler | 1961-1963 | | Honorable Gale Weller | 1965-1986 | | Honorable Dean Curl | 1987-1998 | | Honorable Howard Hall | 1999-Present | | Honorable Robert C. Hickson, Jr. | 2007-Present | One hundred and fifty-four years later, in 2004, Judge Howard Hall is the only presiding judge for the Court of Common Pleas. Morrow County has grown in population as well to an estimated 33,568 county citizens, thirteen thousand higher that during Judge Bowen's term. The Morrow County Court of Common Pleas became an all division Court in 1958 when, by a vote of the electorate, the Probate Court was combined with the Common Pleas Court. Morrow County has been a single judge county ever since. Since 1958, there have been many changes in Ohio's criminal and civil laws. Along with an increasing number of cases, the demands on the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas have risen due primarily to the increase in caseload which has gone in proportion to the increase in population, as well as, the increase in traffic through the county due to the construction of Interstate 71. On June 2, 2004, the Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to support a second judgeship for the Morrow County Common Pleas Court. A similar resolution had been passed by the Morrow County Bar Association which includes the Municipal Court Judge and approximately fifteen local attorneys who have offices in the Court or who regularly practice law in the County. The Morrow County Commissioners, the local attorneys and the Court all agree with the assertion that another judgeship is required to provide the level of service that our community deserves. Copies of the resolutions, along with copies of Court statistical data, was forwarded to the Ohio Supreme Court requesting that a second judgeship for the county be recommended by the Ohio Supreme Court to the Ohio Legislature. On INSERT DATE, the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas received a letter from Chief Justice Thomas Moyer stating that the second judgeship was approved and that the request was being sent to the Ohio Legislature for adoption. The second judgeship will begin on January 1, 2007 after the November General Election for 2006.
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