Is a Criminal Complaint Validly ‘Filed’ Upon Delivery and Acceptance by Clerk of Courts?
Or is Filing Not Complete Unless Date Stamped and Docketed by Clerk City of Zanesville v. Ronald T. Rouse, Jr., Case no. 2009-1282 5th District Court of Appeals (Muskingum County) ISSUE: Is a criminal complaint validly “filed” with a trial court, conferring subject matter jurisdiction over the case with that court, where a written complaint is delivered to the clerk of courts and the clerk assigns a case number and places the complaint in a case file, but the clerk does not date stamp the complaint or make a specific entry on the court’s docket stating that the complaint has been filed? BACKGROUND: In February 2006, Ronald Rouse Jr. of Zanesville was arrested on a charge of violating the city’s domestic violence ordinance. The next day, a copy of the summons and complaint issued to him at the time of his arrest was delivered to the Clerk of the Zanesville Municipal Court. The clerk accepted the document, assigned a case number and placed the document in a case file, but did not physica
