Scioto County OVI Court Process

Portsmouth Municipal Court splits its docket between two elected judges. Judge Steven Mowery handles a substantial share of the general criminal and traffic caseload. Judge Russell Kegley serves as the court's administrative judge — and his tenure carries real relevance for anyone trying to understand how rigidly this court applies its own rules. In 2025, the Ohio Supreme Court issued Kegley a six-month stayed suspension tied to a 2023 incident in which he personally ordered his own son released following a domestic violence arrest, bypassing the court's mandatory hold policy for domestic violence suspects — a policy he'd co-authored himself with Judge Mowery. When his son failed to show up in court the next morning, it led to a SWAT standoff at the family home. For an ordinary OVI defendant, the episode is a useful reminder that the bond schedule applied to the general public here is treated as genuinely non-negotiable, even if that rigidity hasn't always extended to everyone equally.

The Scioto County Drug Court, run through the Court of Common Pleas, offers a post-plea, voluntary pathway for repeat offenders whose OVI charges trace back to chemical dependency — clinical assessment, frequent random testing, intensive probation, and regular appearances before the Drug Court judge, with successful completion reducing supervision time or avoiding a lengthy sentence entirely.

No Phone Means No Digital Documents

Cell phones and pagers are banned from the courtroom unless specifically pre-authorized by the judge — leave them in the car before heading through the metal detector. That means every piece of evidence, every SR-22 form, and any BMV documentation needs to be printed on paper beforehand; there's no pulling anything up on a phone once inside.

Dress code enforcement is absolute. Shorts, tank tops, halter tops, muscle shirts, flip-flops, bandannas, and hats all get someone turned away at the door, and being denied entry for a dress code violation doesn't excuse the missed hearing — it triggers a Failure to Appear warrant just the same.

The Online Docket Runs a Day Behind

The court's CaseLook system carries a documented minimum 24-hour lag between an actual filing or judicial action and when it shows up online — relying on it for last-minute scheduling checks is genuinely risky. Even a plea reduced down to something like Reckless Operation still carries mandatory base court costs of $130 to $140 before any actual fine gets added. The court takes cash, credit and debit cards, and Apple Pay, but personal checks are explicitly refused.

Sources

• Portsmouth Municipal Court
• Disciplinary Counsel v. Kegley — Ohio Supreme Court
• Portsmouth Municipal Court — Traffic/Criminal Costs