---
title: "Keith M. Spaeth | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-m-spaeth"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-27"
---

# Keith M. Spaeth

Butler Co. Common Pleas Court · Common Pleas Judge

## Profile

- Court: Butler Co. Common Pleas Court
- State: Ohio
- Role: Common Pleas 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

- Began his judicial career as a judge for the Fairfield Municipal Court before joining the Butler County Court of Common Pleas (General Division) in April 1999.
- Before joining the bench, he was a partner at the law firm Millikin and Fitton, practicing general law

### Education

- University of Dayton School of Law in — J.D. (1986)

### Additional information

- Judge Spaeth has received multiple honors for his judicial and community contributions, including the Southwest Ohio Trial Lawyers Association Trial Judge of the Year (2017) and the Representative C. J. McLin Award from the Ohio Justice Alliance for Community Corrections (2019)
- His Drug Court has been recognized as a model program in Ohio, with participants required to maintain sobriety, employment, and education to graduate
- The longest-serving trial judge in Butler County and oversees a regular docket as well as the Drug Court, a specialized program for non-violent, drug-dependent offenders that emphasizes court-supervised treatment, rehabilitation, and community reintegration.
- He has been active in professional organizations, including the Butler County Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio Judicial Conference, and held the role of past president of the Butler County Municipal and County Court Judges Association.