---
title: "Ann Clare Oakar | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ann-clare-oakar"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-27"
---

# Ann Clare Oakar

Cleveland Municipal Court · Municipal Court Judge

## Profile

- Court: Cleveland Municipal Court
- State: Ohio
- Role: Municipal Court Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-27

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### remote hearing exhibits

Scope: statewide

Ohio's statewide virtual-court guidance tells courts to include instructions for submitting exhibits or notifying the court of witnesses when remote-hearing information is sent to participants.

Evidence excerpt: Instructions for submitting exhibits or notifying the court of witnesses.

[Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote hearing ground rules

Scope: statewide

Ohio's statewide virtual-court guidance recommends advance ground rules for documents, exhibits, screen sharing, and pre-marking exhibits for remote hearings.

Evidence excerpt: Documents: Share any documents/exhibits that will be reviewed in advance. Use the share screen function while documents are being discussed during the hearing. Request that the documents are pre-marked for exhibit purposes.

[Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote recording

Scope: statewide

Ohio's statewide virtual-court guidance states that litigants, attorneys, and the public should be instructed not to record the hearing.

Evidence excerpt: The court should instruct the litigants, attorneys, and the public to not record the hearing.

[Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.ohiojudges.org/directory/ojc-directory/)
- [Official roster](https://www.ohiojudges.org/directory/ojc-directory/)
- [Ohio Judicial Conference Directory official judicial roster](https://www.ohiojudges.org/directory/ojc-directory/)
- [Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge Ann Clare Oakar is the Administrative and Presiding Judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court, elected in 2017 and re‐elected in 2021, with a career in law, public service, and community advocacy
- She has said she knew she wanted to be a lawyer from age five, inspired by her father, a former U.S. Attorney and law director

### Education

- Case Western Reserve University School of Law — J.D. (2001)
- A graduate of Magnificat High School in Rocky River, Ohio, Oakar obtained a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Dayton.

### Additional information

- She was re‐elected in November 2021 for a full six‐year term ending January 2, 2028.
- In December 2025, by majority vote of the judges, she became Administrative and Presiding Judge
- overseeing the court’s business and overall direction Cleveland Municipal Court
- Oakar comes from a family with a strong tradition of public service: her father, James L. Oakar, was a former U.S. Attorney and law director; her aunt, Mary Rose Oakar, served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Ohio House, and on the Cleveland City Council.
- Worked in both civil and criminal divisions at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, then practiced privately in criminal defense across municipal and county courts Cleveland Municipal Court