Misdemeanor cases are criminal cases where the penalty does not exceed one year in jail and/or a fine in excess of $1,000.00. Examples of misdemeanor cases are domestic violence, assault, petty theft, resisting arrest, criminal damaging, menacing, and stalking.

Felony cases, such as murder, robbery, grand theft, etc. may be heard at the preliminary hearing level in the Delaware Municipal Court. If the prosecutor chooses to file felony charges with the Court rather than filing the case directly with the Delaware County Grand Jury, the defendant appears before the Delaware Municipal Court to have bail set and to demand or waive a preliminary hearing. The purpose of the preliminary hearing is to determine whether probable cause exists to charge the defendant with the felony offense. If the defendant waives his right to a preliminary hearing or if probable cause is found at the hearing, the felony case is transferred to the Delaware County Common Pleas Court for further proceedings.

Traffic and parking violations from the City of Delaware, the Division of Wildlife, and those transferred from all Mayor’s Courts in the geographic jurisdiction of the Delaware Municipal Court are heard by the Court. In some cases, a person who receives a traffic ticket may plead guilty and pay the fine without coming to Court. This is called "waiving" the ticket. Go to www.municipalcourt.org to find the Court’s waiver procedure and schedule of fines. Persons who wish to plead "not guilty" or "no contest" with an explanation must appear in Court before the Judge.