Close up photo of the microphone on a podium
Session of Government. Conference room or seminar meeting room in business event. Academic classroom training course in lecture hall. blurred businessmen talking. modern bright office indoor

Law’s Jonathan L. Entin explains that the charter for the Cleveland City Council has limitations

Cleveland’s charter grants City Council subpoena powers for investigations, but experts say that authority likely has limits

cleveland.com: Jonathan L. Entin, the David L. Brennan Professor Emeritus of Law and adjunct professor of political science, said that the charter of the City of Cleveland includes language that suggests council’s subpoena powers, including the power to impose fines or jail time for noncompliance, could be applied to people outside of City Hall. State law and case law appear to support that idea but the power is not limitless.