Ohio Local – Researching Ordinances

While a lot of your research may take you the route of federal and state legal research, sometimes you may have an issue that involves a local government entity or ordinance. If you’re unfamiliar with this area of legal research, here is a quick run-down of some key resources.

• The research guide to start with is our thorough Ohio Local Government Law Resource Guide, which includes a tab specifically on ordinances.
• The authoritative treatise on Ohio local government law is in three parts – county, municipal, and township, and it’s co-authored by C|M|LAW adjunct professor Harold Babbit. It’s available in print and on Westlaw.
• Lexis Advance allows you to search the ordinances of 14 Ohio municipalities, including Columbus, Cincinnati, and Akron. But not Cleveland!
• If you are involved in drafting a local ordinance, Westlaw’s Practical Law has a good Local Government Ordinances Toolkit that includes checklists, standard documents and clauses, and a guide on ordinance interpretation.
• Most local ordinances are available online on the website of the municipality. There are several resources that collect these, including notably Municode and American Legal Publishing Company. Other suggestions on the local government tab of our Free Electronic Legal Research guide.