This officeholder information was last updated on January 1, 2021. Please contact us with any updates.

Court[edit]

Image provided courtesy of the Ohio County Courthouse Project

The Athens County Court of Common Pleas is a trial court of common pleas in Athens, Ohio.

Judges[edit]

General Division[edit]

Probate and Juvenile Divisions[edit]

Zachary L. Saunders^[1]

Former judges[edit]

External links[edit]

Athens County, Ohio, "Elected Officials"

Ohio courts

Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio

Elections[edit]

See also: Ohio judicial elections

Ohio is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Ohio, click here.

Selection method[edit]

See also: Nonpartisan election of judges

The 391 judges of the Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are all selected in an identical manner. Qualified individuals wishing to join the bench must participate in partisan primary elections followed by nonpartisan general elections.^[2]

The chief judges of the Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are chosen by peer vote and serve for one year.^[2]

Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must be:^[2]

a district or county resident (for court of appeals and common pleas judges);
at least six years practiced in law; and
under the age of 70.

Under the Ohio Constitution, a judge who reaches 70 years of age may be assigned by the chief justice to active duty, receiving payment on a per-day basis in addition to whatever retirement benefits he or she is entitled to.

Election rules[edit]

Primary election[edit]

In Ohio, primary elections serve to nominate a candidate of a political party for election to an office. The winners of each party's primary go on to face each other in the general election. Primaries are held "on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of each year except in years in which a presidential primary election is held."^[3]

Footnotes[edit]

[1] Ohio.gov, "Governor DeWine Appoints Saunders to Athens County Court of Common Pleas," December 11, 2020

[general-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Ohio," archived October 3, 2014

[3] Ohio Revised Code, "3501.01 Election Procedure - Election Officials Definitions," accessed September 13, 2017

[1]

[2]

[3]

Athens County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio