By Tom Lotshaw

The Marietta Register

An appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court seems to be adding further chaos to the perennially vexing question of how to provide “suitable” accommodations for the Marietta Municipal Court – even as the decades-old question heads off into mediation at the state’s highest court in about two weeks.

Butch Badgett filed for a mandamus against the City of Marietta with the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Oct. 2006, to force the city to provide the Municipal Court with “suitable” accommodations as required by Ohio Revised Code.

Badgett argued in his filing that the accommodations should comport with a list of several “shall” and mostly “should” guidelines for courthouse facilities and security developed by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Fourth District Court issued the mandamus May 8, as requested by Badgett, and awarded him reasonable attorney fees.