The Whitehall Mayor’s court oversees most misdemeanor traffic and criminal cases charged under the Whitehall City Ordinance. The court will not handle second offense OVIs, second offense driving under OVI or FRA (driving with no insurance) suspensions, and domestic violence cases.
Criminal Defense and Traffic Attorney Representation at Whitehall Mayor’s Court
Let Meis Law help you if you find yourself in the Mayor’s Court. We will work with the prosecutor to achieve the best possible result for your case. We have years of experience in Whitehall Mayor’s Court.
Whitehall Mayor’s Court Information
The Whitehall Mayor’s court takes place at the Whitehall City Hall. It’s located at 360 S. Yearling Road, Whitehall, Ohio. Parking is on the north and south sides of the building and across the street in the lot marked municipal building. You can enter at the front of the building. Court is held every Tuesday. Traffic arraignments are held at 8:00 am. Code enforcement and tax arraignments are held at 8:45 am. Criminal arraignments are held at 9:00 am. Pretrials are held at 9:30 am. Trials are held on the second Tuesday of each month and begin at 10:15 am. Sean Maxfield is the Magistrate. Contact the Whitehall clerk of court’s at 614-338-3109 or at mayorscourt@whitehall-oh.us.
Procedure in Whitehall Mayor’s Court
With the exception of jury trials, the Whitehall Mayor’s Court has the same procedures as the Franklin County Municipal Court. They hold arraignments, pretrials, court trials, and revocation hearings.
- Arraignment – You can enter one of three pleas at arraignment (Guilty, not guilty, and no contest). If you enter a not guilty plea, your case will be set for a pretrial.
- Pretrial – This is the step where Meis Law will negotiate with the prosecutor and try to resolve the case before trial. If the police made any illegal searches or seizures, we will file a suppression motion to try and get rid of any illegally attained evidence.
- Court trial – If there is no resolution during pretrial, the case will be set for a court trial and the magistrate will hear the case.
- Even if you lose at your court trial at Mayor’s Court, you can appeal the decision and the case will be transferred to the county municipal court. This will start the process over again. Basically, you get two cracks at a trial if your case starts at the Mayor’s Court.
Because Mayor’s courts do not hold jury trials, you can choose to have your case transferred to the appropriate county court.