COLUMBUS — A new Ohio Senate bill aims to relieve the crushing caseloads of Franklin County’s judges by adding two seats to the county’s Court of Common Pleas General Division.
Senate Bill 471, introduced Sept. 14 by Sens. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) and Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus), would expand the General Division from 17 judges to 19. Under the legislation, the new judges would be elected in 2028 and take the bench in 2029. The bill has not yet reached a Senate committee in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Franklin County ranks No. 1 in highest pending cases per judge in the state, according to a policy brief provided by DeMora. On average, each Franklin County Common Pleas judge carried a docket of 761 pending civil and criminal cases in 2025. “That’s way too many,” DeMora told The Columbus Dispatch. “Some civil trials are taking three years to come to fruition, and that’s far too long.”
By comparison, Cuyahoga County — which has a smaller population than Franklin — averaged 452 cases for each of its 34 judges.
The strain reflects rapid growth: Franklin County’s population climbed 13.8% between 2010 and 2020 to 1.32 million, and projections place it between 1.49 and 1.67 million by 2050, while total case filings rose 26.5% between 2020 and 2025. Because criminal cases take precedence by rule over civil cases, civil litigants face the longest waits. “It slows down the justice system,” DeMora said. “People aren’t getting the justice they deserve or need.”