Belmont County

Belmont County follows Ohio law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

Every court must keep a bail schedule for misdemeanors so people can be released before they see a judge. When no judge, magistrate, or clerk is available, the sheriff, police, or jailer may set bail from that schedule. Only a judge or magistrate sets bail on a felony.

Ohio Rev. Code 2937.23Ohio Rev. Code 2937.011(I)

Time to see a judge

A person arrested and still held must see a judicial officer for a bail hearing by the second court day after arrest. After a warrantless arrest, a judge or magistrate must also review probable cause within 48 hours, but that review can happen on paper. If the person had no lawyer at the first hearing and is still held, a second bail hearing with appointed counsel follows two court days later.

Ohio Rev. Code 2937.011(J)Ohio Crim. R. 4(E)(2)

Money bail

Ohio courts may set money bail. The constitution tells courts to weigh public safety, the charge, and the person's record when setting the amount. State law requires the least restrictive conditions and any money terms to be the least costly that will bring the person back to court.

Ohio Const. art. I, sec. 9Ohio Rev. Code 2937.011(A)-(B)

Courts

Each county's court of common pleas tries felonies. Municipal and county courts hear misdemeanors and hold first appearances in felony cases. Mayor's courts in some cities and villages without a municipal court hear ordinance and traffic cases.

Ohio Rev. Code 2301.01Ohio Rev. Code 1905.01Ohio Rev. Code 1907.13

Judges and magistrates

Voters elect common pleas judges to six-year terms on a ballot that shows no party, and judges must have six years of law practice. Municipal and county court judges are elected the same way and must also be lawyers. A mayor, who need not be a lawyer, hears mayor's court cases or appoints a lawyer as magistrate.

Ohio Rev. Code 2301.01Ohio Rev. Code 3505.04Ohio Rev. Code 1901.06Ohio Rev. Code 1901.07Ohio Rev. Code 1905.05

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Crim.R. 46 was repealed July 1, 2023; bail rules now sit in R.C. 2937.011. Common pleas candidates may run in party primaries even though the general ballot is nonpartisan; not confirmed from statute text here. Magistrate lawyer requirement under Crim.R. 19 not read. That city prosecutors handle misdemeanors is general practice, not read from statute.

Pretrial practice

Mapping Pretrial Injustice listed its risk tool in 2021 as the Ohio Risk Assessment System Pretrial Assessment Tool (ORAS-PAT).

MediaJustice and Movement Alliance Project, Mapping Pretrial Injustice county map (data as of fall 2021)

From Mapping Pretrial Injustice, a map compiled by MediaJustice and the Movement Alliance Project, advocacy groups that campaign against pretrial risk assessment tools. Its data is from fall 2021; CrimeDB uses it only where no court, government, or research list covers the county.

• Richland township14,523
• Pease township12,555
• Pultney township8,039
• Martins Ferry6,140
• Warren township5,664
• Mead township5,335
• St. Clairsville5,003
• Colerain township4,146
• Barnesville village3,945
• Bellaire village3,800
• Shadyside village3,387
• Goshen township2,966
• Flushing township2,635
• Union township2,200
• York township2,073
• Bridgeport village1,453
• Wheeling township1,449
• Powhatan Point village1,420
• Smith township1,388
• Bethesda village1,239
• Flushing village1,149
• Somerset township1,119
• Yorkville village908
• Brookside village610
• Washington township551
• Wayne township458
• Holloway village399
• Kirkwood township372
• Belmont village370
• Morristown village240
• Wilson village94
• Fairview village37

Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Belmont County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.

• Belmont County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police27,703 served
• Richland Township Police DepartmentCity police department9,408 served
• Martins Ferry Police DepartmentCity police department6,004 served
• St. Clairsville Police DepartmentCity police department4,924 served
• Barnesville Police DepartmentCity police department3,877 served
• Bellaire Police DepartmentCity police department3,717 served
• Shadyside Police DepartmentCity police department3,329 served
• Bridgeport Police DepartmentCity police department1,520 served
• Powhatan Point Police DepartmentCity police department1,403 served
• Bethesda Police DepartmentCity police department1,178 served
• Yorkville Police DepartmentCity police department930 served
• Flushing Police DepartmentCity police department802 served
• No name OH0071300City police department236 served
• Belmont County Major Crimes UnitOther agency

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.