In The News 13 August 2026

Highland County commissioners' Aug. 7 letter to Ohio Supreme Court on County Court

• Publisher's note: On Aug. 7, the Highland County Board of Commissioners sent the following letter to the Ohio Supreme Court. It was not listed on the board's agenda nor discussed in open session.

Highland County Commission President Terry Britton told The Highland County Press, "This is the time for us to start looking at all budgets throughout the county. With both of our judges leaving and John Judkins leaving the Greenfield court, that question came up. Word travels fast, but for us this is just an evaluation that we are doing to see if this makes any sense or not. This is far from being a reality and maybe never will be."

The commissioners' letter to the Ohio Supreme Court follows:

I am writing on behalf of the Highland County Board of Commissioners regarding the future of County Court located in Greenfield, Ohio.

With the upcoming transition of the current judge, the bench will soon be vacant. As the Board of Commissioners evaluates the options available to the County, including whether it is appropriate and feasible to continue operating the Greenfield County Court, the Commissioners would like to make this decision based on accurate data and a clear understanding of the potential impacts.

We are reaching out to the Supreme Court of Ohio to request any information, statistics, or guidance that may assist the Commissioners in this evaluation.

Some of the information we are looking for is potentially listed below:

• Historical and current caseload statistics for the Greenfield County Court;

• Trends in the court’s workload over the past several years;

• Comparisons with similarly situated county courts in Ohio;

• The number of cases that would potentially need to be handled by another court if the Greenfield County Court were discontinued;

• The process and requirements associated with closing or discontinuing a county court;

• How the court’s jurisdiction and caseload could be transferred or otherwise accommodated;
 
We would also greatly appreciate any insight your office can provide based on other Ohio counties that have faced a similar situation.

Our goal is to gather as much objective information as possible so that we can fully understand the operational, financial, legal, and public-access implications before making any decision.

If there is a particular division, department, or individual within the Supreme Court of Ohio who would be better suited to assist us with this request, we would be grateful if you could direct us accordingly and would welcome someone to visit one of our meetings to ask questions.

Thank you for your time and assistance. We appreciate any information or guidance you are able to provide.

Sincerely,
Ashleigh Willey
Highland County Commissioner’s Office

• Publisher's note: For more information, visit https://saveourcourtgreenfield.org.

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