The Clock on Your Case
ORC 2945.71 — the day counts, and the one that runs triple
Ohio does not leave the word speedy to argument. Chapter 2945 puts a number of days on it, counted from arrest or from service of summons, and the number moves with the degree of the charge. The count runs on its own. Nobody has to start it and nothing about it depends on how busy the docket is.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
| The charge pending | Days to trial |
|---|---|
| The charge pendingMinor misdemeanor | Days to trial30 |
| The charge pendingMisdemeanor of the third or fourth degree, or any misdemeanor with a maximum of not more than sixty days | Days to trial45 |
| The charge pendingMisdemeanor of the first or second degree, or any misdemeanor with a maximum of more than sixty days | Days to trial90 |
| The charge pendingFelony | Days to trial270 |
A day in jail counts as three. For purposes of computing time, each day the accused is held in jail in lieu of bail on the pending charge counts as three days. A felony's two hundred and seventy days becomes ninety for somebody who cannot post bond. The Ohio Supreme Court reads the provision as reaching only a person held solely on that charge, so a parole holder or a second case sitting underneath it takes the triple count away.
The count is not absolute, and the statute that extends it is the one most people never read. Section 2945.72 lists the periods that push the date out, and several of them belong to the accused rather than to the state.
- Any period during which the accused is unavailable, or is mentally incompetent or physically incapable of standing trial.
- Any period of delay occasioned by the neglect or improper act of the accused.
- Any period of delay necessitated by a motion, proceeding or action made or instituted by the accused.
- The period of any continuance granted on the accused's own motion, and the period of any reasonable continuance granted other than on the accused's own motion.
Asking for more time spends your own clock. A continuance granted on the accused's own motion extends the limit by that period, and so does a motion the accused files. It is the same sentence read from both sides: the statute counts the state's delay against the state and the defendant's delay against the defendant. A continuance granted to the state extends the limit only so far as it is reasonable.
When the days run out, the two halves of the criminal code part ways. On a misdemeanor, section 2945.73 says that upon motion made at or prior to the commencement of trial the person shall be discharged, and that the discharge is a bar to any further criminal proceedings based on the same conduct. On a felony, the person becomes eligible for release from detention first, and a motion made at or before the commencement of trial, and not sooner than fourteen days before that eligibility date, dismisses the charges with prejudice unless the person is brought to trial within fourteen days after the motion is filed and served on the prosecuting attorney.
The right is not self executing. Every route in section 2945.73 begins with the words upon motion. A count that has run out does not empty the courtroom by itself, and the statute puts the motion at or prior to the commencement of trial rather than after it. A case where nobody raised it is a case where the deadline passed twice.
“I have not waived time in this case. Can the entry show the date of arrest and how many days are counted so far?”
This is the statutory count, which is a different question from the constitutional speedy trial test and answered by different rules. Which days actually count on one docket, whether an entry tolled anything, and whether a waiver was signed along the way are questions about a specific file. A licensed Ohio attorney is who reads it.
Sources for this section (4)
- ORC 2945.71 — Time within which an accused must be brought to trial
- ORC 2945.72 — Extending the time for a hearing or trial
- ORC 2945.73 — Discharge for delay in trial
- State v. MacDonald, 48 Ohio St.2d 66 (1976) — The triple count applies only to a person held in jail in lieu of bail solely on the pending charge
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.