The Court Administration Office provides support services to the judiciary, staff and the general public. The office handles evidence management, case scheduling and notification of parties, appointment of counsel for indigent defendants, juror excuses and information, inventory management, purchasing, personnel and training/travel and staff development. Responsibilities of the administration office employees also involve coordinating accommodations for special cases, scheduling visiting judges and performing duties as assigned by the administrative judge.

The scheduling of cases involves managing the dockets of the seven General Division judges. Each civil case that is filed with the court is reviewed and set for an initial status report hearing with the judge who is randomly assigned to that case. During that report hearing, other dates will be set, which may include a pending motion hearing, an arbitration, a mediation or pretrial and trial dates.

In an arbitration, the parties present facts and legal arguments to a panel of three neutral attorneys who render a decision. The panel is assigned by the Court Administration Office from a rotating list of participating members of the Butler County Bar Association. The purpose of arbitration is to help resolve civil cases in the Common Pleas Court where the amount of damages claimed in the dispute does not exceed $50,000.00. The parties may accept the decision of the arbitration panel or appeal the award within thirty days from the date the award is filed with the Clerk of Courts Office. If the case is appealed, it will be set for trial before the assigned judge on that case.

Mediation is an option for parties who are interested in resolving their disputes without going to trial. A case may be referred to mediation if it is apparent that both parties are interested in negotiating an agreement. The Court Administration Office assigns a mediator to the case from a rotating list of attorneys who have met certain Butler County Bar Association qualifications and have been approved by the General Division judges to handle mediations. The mediator helps to define areas of agreement and disagreement but does not impose a settlement. He/She is simply there to help the parties come to a settlement agreement that is fair to all involved.

Contact Information:
Gary Yates, Court Administrator

Mary Swain, Manager Court Administration

Assistant Court Administrators:
Terri Ballinger
Erica Dierling
Linda Murdock
Cheryl Welch
Phone: 513-785-6550
Fax: 513-785-5719