Cuyahoga County Corrections Center Inmate Bail & Bonds
Cuyahoga County bail and bond: the West 3rd Street jail and the Justice Center bond counter
Adults arrested in Cleveland and across Cuyahoga County are booked into the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, 1215 West 3rd Street, Cleveland. Check for the person on Cuyahoga County Inmate Search before you do anything else. A Cleveland Municipal Court bond is paid in person at the Justice Center, 1200 Ontario Street, any hour of the day or night. Felony bonds can be paid online. Questions about the jail itself go to the warden's office at 216-443-6125.
1. Where do Cuyahoga County police take the people they arrest?
To the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, 1215 West 3rd Street, Cleveland, OH 44113. It is two high-rise buildings, Jail I and Jail II, and it books more than 26,000 people a year. MetroHealth provides the medical and mental health care inside.
Some inmates are placed in satellite locations instead of the main towers, so a person can be in custody without being at West 3rd Street.
2. How do I find out if my husband is in custody?
Type his name into Cuyahoga County Inmate Search. That is the fastest check, and it shows the charge and bond when a court has set one.
The county Sheriff's office also posts daily jail rosters in its app. Phone the Sheriff at 216-443-6000 if the name does not show after several hours. The warden's office answers at 216-443-6125.
3. Where can I pay a Cleveland Municipal Court bond at midnight?
At the Clerk of Courts, Criminal/Traffic Division, on Level 3 of the Justice Center, 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland. Bonds under Local Rule 17 are taken in person 24 hours a day, every day. For the bond amount or payment questions, call 216-664-4790.
The clerk's regular counter keeps set hours, shorter on weekends, and it closes on legal holidays. The bond counter does not follow those hours.
4. What do I need to bring to the bond counter?
Bring a government photo ID. A birth certificate with a Social Security card also works as identification. Bring the money too, because the clerk takes cash, Mastercard, Visa and Discover.
The clerk does not take checks. If you would rather not travel, the court's website takes bond payments by card at any hour.
5. How is a felony bond paid in Cuyahoga County?
Felony cases belong to the Court of Common Pleas, and its bonds can be paid online at any hour, every day, by credit or debit card. The online system accepts cash bonds and 10 percent bonds. Bonding agents use the same system.
Search the defendant by name or case number, choose the bond type, fill in the depositor form, and pay. After approval the jail's Release desk is notified. For the court itself, call 216-443-8560.
6. What extra charges come with a card payment?
Two. The state adds a reparation fee on a bond, and the screen shows the amount before you pay. The card vendor adds 3 percent, online or in person.
Plan for both on top of the bond. The reparation fee is separate from the bond money.
7. Who gets the refund when the case ends?
The depositor form decides. On the online felony system you pick whether the money goes back to the depositor, goes back to the defendant, or pays court costs. Read each choice before you submit.
Under R.C. 2937.40, a court cannot apply bail posted by someone else to the defendant's fines or costs without that person's approval. That makes the form choice important.
8. How soon after I pay will she walk out?
Payment sends a notice to the Release desk at the Corrections Center, and staff there process the release. The release itself takes some time after the notice.
The Corrections Center handles prisoner drop-off and pick-up from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. People held on county warrants are booked at any hour. Call the warden's office at 216-443-6125 if you have waited longer than you expected.
9. How long before a judge reviews the bond amount?
Ohio law (R.C. 2937.011) requires an initial bail hearing no later than the second court day after an arrest. If the person has no lawyer and is still held, a second hearing follows two court days later, and the court appoints counsel at state expense for someone who cannot pay.
Bail is only one piece. The judge also looks at the seriousness of the charge, prior record, and the chance the person returns to court.
10. My son was arrested by Parma, Lakewood or another suburb. Which court has him?
Cuyahoga County has many city courts besides Cleveland. Municipal courts operate in Parma, Lakewood, Berea, Bedford, Rocky River, Euclid, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lyndhurst, East Cleveland and Garfield Heights.
Ask the arresting police department which court received the case, then call that court's clerk about bond hours. Felony charges move up to the county Common Pleas Court on Ontario Street.
11. Does a lawyer need to be at the first hearing?
Not for the hearing to happen. A defendant who has no lawyer still gets a bail hearing, and an indigent defendant gets appointed counsel at state expense at the second one.
A private attorney can ask a judge to change the type or amount of bail at any time. R.C. 2937.011 lets the court add, change or remove conditions on motion.
12. What portion of a 10 percent deposit comes back?
It is a deposit bond. The court sets a bond amount, and you give the clerk 10 percent of it in cash. When every condition is met, the court returns 90 percent of the deposit. Ohio law, R.C. 2937.011(C), lets the defendant choose this form.
The state fee is paid on top of the deposit and is not part of the 90 percent.
13. Do I have to use a bail bondsman?
No. A bond agent is an option for people who cannot put up the money themselves. Agents must hold an Ohio Department of Insurance license and must charge the premium the Superintendent of Insurance has approved. Ask for the amount in writing, along with any collateral demand.
Ohio rules bar an agent from making you transfer title to real estate as a condition of the bond. Agents also may not solicit at courthouses or jails.
14. Can a judge refuse bail altogether?
Yes, in narrow cases. Ohio Constitution art. I, sec. 9 allows denial for a capital offense, or for a felony where the proof is evident and the person poses a substantial risk of serious physical harm to anyone. R.C. 2937.222 adds a hearing, and the judge must find the facts by clear and convincing evidence.
A hold from another county or a probation violation can also stop a release even when this case has a bond.
15. Can a house count as bond?
Ohio law allows a bond secured by real estate, with a sworn statement from the owner describing the property and what is owed on it (R.C. 2937.011(L)). A lawyer cannot post as surety, even for a client.
Ask the clerk handling the case before you gather deeds, since each court sets its own paperwork.
16. Is money on a commissary account the same as bond?
No. Commissary money buys phone time and store items for the inmate. Bond is a payment to a court to secure release. A deposit never counts toward bond.
Inmates can call collect, and families can set up a Securus account to receive calls. The jail does not take incoming calls or messages for inmates.
17. Is there a free lawyer for people who cannot pay?
The Cuyahoga County Public Defender, 310 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, answers at 216-443-7223, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office also represents people charged with misdemeanors in Cleveland and Lakewood Municipal Courts.
A court decides who qualifies. The Youth and Parent Defense Office is at 9300 Quincy Avenue and can be reached at 216-443-7295.
18. Where is a teenager held after an arrest?
At the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center inside the Juvenile Justice Center, 9300 Quincy Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106. It has 180 beds and holds youth awaiting trial when the offense puts public safety at risk. The main number is 216-443-8400.
Not every child is detained. A judge decides at a detention hearing.
19. What if he already missed a court date?
Call the court that issued the warrant today. A missed date can lead to a warrant, and the bond can be forfeited under R.C. 2937.35 and 2937.36. Waiting makes it worse.
Tell the bond agent too, if one is involved. A surety who returns the defendant before the court enters judgment may protect the bond.
20. What if the person is in a federal or state prison?
Neither shows on the county search. For a federal inmate, try the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. For a state prisoner, use Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records.
No one at the Corrections Center can bail out a federal prisoner.
Cuyahoga County bail contacts
- County jail
- Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, 1215 West 3rd Street, Cleveland, OH 44113; warden's office 216-443-6125
- Bond guide
- Cuyahoga County jails and bond guide
- Custody lookup
- Cuyahoga County Inmate Search
- Sheriff
- Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office, 1215 West 3rd Street, Cleveland; 216-443-6000
- Cleveland bond counter
- Clerk of Courts, Criminal/Traffic Division, Level 3, 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland; 216-664-4790; open 24 hours for bonds
- Common Pleas
- 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland; 216-443-8560; online felony bonds at any hour
- Public defender
- 310 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland; 216-443-7223; youth defense 216-443-7295
- Juvenile
- Juvenile Detention Center, 9300 Quincy Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106; 216-443-8400
Hours, fees and payment rules at the Justice Center can change, so phone the clerk before you carry cash across town. Nothing here is legal advice; it is a plain-language guide to Cuyahoga County practice.
How do Bail Bonds work at Cuyahoga County Corrections Center
- Bail is the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial on condition that a sum of cash money be lodged to guarantee their appearance in Cuyahoga County Court in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Once the defendant is booked and filed for arrest, a custody and bail hearing will be scheduled, usually within 48 hours.
- At the hearing the judge may issue a bail or bond amount. This bail or bond is a refundable sum of cash money paid to the court to provide incentive for the defendant to attend all scheduled court hearings.
- Cleveland Municipal Court bonds are issued at the City Clerk of Courts office on the 3rd floor of the Justice Center (216.664.4790), and Cuyahoga County bonds are issued on the 2nd floor. The person’s name, case number, dollar amount, and court date will be written on the bond.
- Bonds must be taken to the facility where the subject is being held. Bonds may be returned if they are incorrect or if the jail Supervisor requests the Clerk of Courts to set a higher bond.
- A person released on a bond who has a hold (warrant) for another agency will be held and transferred to that agency if they are wanted at the time of their release from Cleveland, regardless of the court date set on the Cleveland bond.
Cuyahoga County Corrections Center
Address:
1215 W. 3rd Street
Cleveland, OH 44101
Phone:
216-698-4820