2 Mahoning County courts receive state grants to help reduce backlogs

Two Mahoning County courts were awarded state grants Monday to help reduce accumulated backlogs of pending court proceedings.

Struthers Municipal Court will receive $131,479 to hire a full-time clerk and a part-time clerk, and Youngstown Municipal Court will receive $87,984 to hire a full-time pretrial services staff member, a news release states.

The funding is part of the Ohio Court Backlog Reduction Program. Throughout the state, 51 courts were awarded a total of $10.2 million in grants.

“I’m grateful for all the hardworking people in our courthouses who work every day to uphold the right to a fair trial,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the release. “The funding we are awarding today will support this work and ensure that justice is served in a timely manner.”

Municipal and county courts, courts of common pleas and appellate courts were eligible to apply for grants for one- or two-year projects, the release states.

The Ohio Court Backlog Reduction Program is funded as part of the $250 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding that DeWine and the General Assembly dedicated to first responders in 2021.