There are two distinctly different divisions within the Clerk of Courts office - the Legal Division and the Motor Vehicle Title Division.

Lake County Clerk of Courts Legal Division
The Clerk of Courts office plays a vital role in serving the interests of justice. This includes filing, docketing, indexing and preserving all court pleadings for civil, felony criminal and domestic relations cases. The Clerk of Courts must also follow procedure required by law and issue writs to carry out Court orders. Some of these writs include summons, subpoenas, warrants to arrest and to convey to penal institutions and the signing of the death warrant in capital cases.

In addition to processing all Court paperwork, the Clerk of Courts must preserve the records for use by future generations. A computer system has been in use since 1990 to record the index and docket of court cases allowing faster access to the information.

Older court casefiles are kept on microfilm. By reducing the files to microfilm, the amount of space needed to permanently retain casefiles is manageable and the files are safer. The master microfilm is kept offsite and the Clerk's office makes available a copy for use in the office.

The Clerk's office collects court costs on the approximately 6000 new cases each year. Over $500,000.00 in fees and costs was turned over to the county from the Legal Division last year. The amount of court cost collected increased by approximately $40,000 last year. This is primarily due to the automated accounts receivable program put into place in 1999.

A new labeling and tracking system for casefiles was instituted in 1999. Color-coded labels with a bar code are printed for each file folder and jacket. A scanner is used to record the location of each file and report files that are overdue in being returned to the Clerk's office

The Clerk's office has recently moved to our new facilities in the lower level of the Courthouse West Annex. The new location has more space for public research and a better lay out to serve the residents of Lake County.

Lake County Clerk of Courts Title Division
The Title Division has two locations, the main office located in a ONE STOP SHOP in Perry combining the Title Bureau, License Bureau and Highway Patrol Testing Station into one facility and a branch office in Wickliffe. The main office in Perry is now open until NOON on Saturdays. The Title Bureau issues a certificate of title to document the ownership of motor vehicles including automobiles, watercraft and all terrain vehicles. An Automated Title Processing System links all 88 counties Title Bureaus into a common database. The computer system, provided by the State of Ohio, was completely upgraded in 1999. New hardware and software have been installed, and all Title Division staff members were trained on the new procedures.

The Title Division collects State of Ohio sales tax on the sale of motor vehicles. The Lake County Title collects approximately $20 million each year in sales tax for the State.

Through the cooperation of the Lake County Clerk of Courts and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Wickliffe Title Bureau and the Drivers' License Bureau are now located in the same shopping plaza. This "One Stop Shop" concept allows the residents of Lake County to more easily transfer titles and license plates without traveling from location to location.

The Clerk of Courts also serves as a member of Lake County's: