Public Notice

The Meigs County Ohio Elected Officials are making this public announcement, effective immediately.  Due to the increased numbers of persons in our community suffering from the COVID-19 virus and in an effort to protect the public who use our facilities and our staff, the Meigs County Courthouse and other County Offices related to Courthouse business are significantly limiting access or entry to their respective buildings. 

Many of the services provided at the Courthouse can now be obtained without physically going to the courthouse.  The attached list is an explanation of how you can get information or remote access to the courthouse and some other county offices.  If, after review of these options, you believe you still need to enter the Courthouse, the following restrictions and requirements will be enforced. 

Persons are encouraged, and in many cases required, to schedule appointments with whichever office or offices you need physical access to in the Meigs County Courthouse.  All persons entering the courthouse must do so through the Covid-19 Screening and Security Station at the ground level of the courthouse.  Often this security station is extremely busy and lines may form, but please be patient with the staff as we all work through this together.  Pursuant to the Meigs County Health Department and the State of Ohio Health Department and Governors Orders, all person using the Courthouse facilities are REQUIRED to wear a facial covering.  If you have medical reasons that make wearing a mask difficult or impossible, please send another person on your behalf or attempt to make arrangements for curb-side services, if so offered by the respective office.  You may be required to show photo identification to verify that you are the person with a hearing or appointment.  The screening station will have the names of all persons with scheduled appointments or scheduled hearings.  

If you do not have an appointment or a hearing and depending on the service you are seeking, you may be directed to leave and schedule an appointment.   We want to be helpful, so when possible, the screening station personnel may reach out to the respective offices and, when possible, make arrangements for limited access.  

Contact information for the Courthouse offices and other county offices related to Courthouse business are provided below. For any remaining county office not covered within this information, please contact that office directly.  

We want to thank the citizens of Meigs County, fellow elected officials, and our employees for their cooperation, patience, and understanding during this these ever-changing times  We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause the citizens of Meigs County.  We believe these measures are necessary to protect the public and our employees and to keep our day-to-day business running.  We will continue to work with Federal, State, and Local Officials and update the public with any additional changes to our services on our websites, if any, through the local papers, and various social media platforms.

Welcome

Please take a few minutes to view our new site.  We will continue to make improvements to this website to ensure the  highest level  As Meigs County Clerk of Courts, I strive for positive, efficient and courteous customer service.  I, together with my staff, await the opportunity to serve the needs of Meigs County and its residents.

Sammi Mugrage

LEGAL DIVISION

TITLE DIVISION

PASSPORT INFORMATION

Redaction Policy:
Pursuant to Rule 45(D)(1) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio “When submitting a case document to a court or filing a case document with a clerk of court, a party to a judicial action or proceeding shall omit personal identifiers from the document.” Pursuant to Rule 45(D)(3) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio “The responsibility for omitting personal identifiers from a case document submitted to a court or filed with a clerk of court pursuant to division (D)(1) of this rule shall rest solely with the party. The court or clerk is not required to review the case document to confirm that the party has omitted personal identifiers, and shall not refuse to accept or file the document on that basis.”

Pursuant to Rule 44(H) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio “personal identifiers” include: 1. Social Security numbers, except for the last four digits; 2. Full financial account number including, but not limited to debt card, charge card, and credit card numbers; 3. Employer and employee identification numbers; and 4. A juvenile’s name in an abuse, neglect, or dependency case, except for the juvenile’s initials or a generic abbreviation such as “CV” for child victim.

As a service, the Meigs County Clerk of Courts office attempts to redact in accordance with the items listed in the Rules of Superintendence [See Sup. R. 45.]. Filers are on notice, however, that pursuant to Superintendence Rule 45, the responsibility for omitting personal identifiers remains at all times with the party or individual that files the document.

In addition to the foregoing, those filing documents are responsible for taking appropriate steps to protect any other information the release of which is prohibited by state or federal law.

It is the responsibility of the filing party and counsel to remove personal and private information from a document filed with the Clerk of Court’s office. The responsibility of the filing party and counsel to remove personal and private information extends to and includes exhibits or addenda attached to filing, such as preliminary and final judicial reports which itemized state tax liens that use Social Security numbers as case numbers or medical records.

The Clerk of Courts and deputy clerks shall have no responsibility for the removal of any personal and private information filed in a public document in the Meigs County Clerk of Court’s office.

Personal and private information must be submitted in a separate filing which will be deemed by the Court as a non-public record. The information will be kept in a separate envelope within the case file marked as follows: “Notice of Personal Identifiers sealed and only to be opened by the Court or Clerk’s Office with permission of the Court.”

Journal entries that necessarily include personal and private information must be submitted to the Clerk of Court’s office as follows: a copy that includes the personal and private information for placement in the non-public envelope and a copy with personal and private information redacted for placement in the public file. The copy not containing the personal and private information (for the public file) will have the notation “redacted” at all places in the document where such information was removed. The Court will sign both journal entries.

The Clerk of Courts will not remove any personal and private information from a stamp-filed document, including records or transcripts transmitted to this court from another court, without a court order to do so. The Clerk of Courts may refuse to accept for filing any document that contains personal and private information that has not been redacted or submitted in accordance with this order.

Any personal and private information in documents filed prior to the implementation of this rule is considered public. Any personal and private information in records or transcripts transmitted to this court from another court is considered public. A party or an attorney in a case, or any other person whose personal and private information is contained in a public record of this court may petition the court for removal of the personal and private information, and if the request is granted, the personal and private information will be removed from a stamp-filed document and placed in a separate envelope and deemed a non-public record. The petition shall contain the caption of the particular case.