Plan to eliminate East Liverpool Municipal Court not happening, a judge says

EAST LIVERPOOL — The elimination of East Liverpool Municipal Court and the creation of a Columbiana County court, a plan proposed by city council, isn’t going to happen.

City Councilman Ryan Stovall proposed the issue Monday night, and council passed it.

The move was apparently an attempt to save the city money.

But Judge Melissa Byers-Emmerling, who has been running the municipal court for 20 years, said today that council’s action is “really a non-issue.”

The judge said the issue of eliminating the municipal court “raises its head every couple of years” and then dies down.

The city council, she said, has “no authority” to change the court system.

For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com