Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio

In Ohio, most charges are first brought in municipal court. However, a second domestic violence charge after a previous domestic violence conviction is a felony and thus it must be brought in common pleas court after an indictment. So the procedure is to dismiss the municipal court case and then send the file over to the prosecutor in the court of common pleas so he can put the information he has before a grand jury and they can choose whether or not to charge you again through indictment.

You still have two defenses. First, you can argue that this should not be a felony since it is not domestic violence since the person you allegedly assaulted did not live with you and was not formally related to you. Second, you can, of course, argue that you did not touch her and the prosecutor will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did.