Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

An individual incarcerated at the Belmont Correctional Institution requested various records from the sheriff relating to the operation and administration of the county jail, including policies on inmate intake and booking, personnel employed during a specified period, and records-retention policies. When his attempts to submit the requests by hand delivery and certified mail failed—one being refused and the other returned as undeliverable—he sent the requests by fax. Additionally, a third party, claiming to be his agent, submitted similar requests via email. The sheriff provided some records, stated that others had already been given, and explained that many requested records were maintained by private entities that had operated the jail under contract during relevant periods.The inmate subsequently filed a mandamus action against the sheriff and the jail, but not against the private jail administrators. The Supreme Court of Ohio previously dismissed the claim against the jail as a non-legal entity, and granted a limited writ requiring the sheriff to obtain and provide certain records from the private entities or certify their nonexistence. The court deferred the issue of statutory damages until the sheriff complied. The sheriff requested the records from the private entities, forwarded what was provided to the inmate, and filed a notice of compliance.Reviewing the case, the Supreme Court of Ohio denied the requests for statutory damages and for contempt and sanctions. The court held that the inmate had not shown by clear and convincing evidence that he successfully transmitted his records requests by hand delivery or certified mail, nor that he authorized the third party to submit requests as his agent by email. The court further found no evidence that the sheriff disobeyed or resisted the court’s prior order, noting that the sheriff acted to comply with the writ by seeking records from the private entities and forwarding their responses. The motions for statutory damages, contempt, and sanctions were therefore denied. View "State ex rel. Brown v. Columbiana Cty. Jail" on Justia Law

In this case, two police officers responded to a robbery at a car dealership and pursued the suspects on the highway. During the chase, one officer was shot multiple times by a hidden suspect, and both officers exchanged gunfire with the perpetrator, who was ultimately killed. One officer suffered serious injuries and required extensive medical care. Following the incident, a newspaper reporter requested public records from the Columbus Police Department, including body camera and dash camera footage of the shootout. The police department denied the request for unredacted video footage, citing statutory provisions that protect the privacy of crime victims, specifically Marsy's Law and related Ohio statutes.The Columbus Police Department eventually released redacted versions of the body camera footage, concealing the identities of the two officers and ending the video before the shooting. The newspaper maintained that, as public officials acting in the line of duty, the officers could not be considered "victims" under Marsy's Law and filed an original action in the Supreme Court of Ohio seeking a writ of mandamus to compel production of the unredacted footage.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed whether the officers were "victims" under Article I, Section 10a of the Ohio Constitution (Marsy's Law), and thus entitled to privacy protections under the Victim Privacy Law and the Public Records Act. The court held that police officers are "persons against whom crimes can be committed" and therefore qualify as victims under Marsy's Law. As a result, the statutory provisions apply, and the redaction of identifying information from the footage was proper. The court denied the newspaper's request for a writ of mandamus, holding that the newspaper was not entitled to unredacted body camera and dash camera footage identifying the officers. View "State ex rel. GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings II, Inc. v. Columbus Police Dept." on Justia Law

The case concerns a lawsuit brought by the executor of an estate against a city, alleging that the city’s negligence in failing to address a hazardous tree led to a fatal accident. The estate claimed that the city owned the tree and had ignored repeated warnings about its dangerous condition, resulting in the decedent’s severe injury and subsequent death after a tree fell on him while he was riding a motorcycle on a city street.After the complaint was filed, the city submitted an answer denying the allegations and raising several defenses, including a general assertion that the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. However, the city did not specifically assert political-subdivision immunity as a defense. The case experienced delays due to a judge’s recusal and the COVID-19 pandemic. As the case progressed, the estate pursued discovery and moved for partial summary judgment. The city failed to timely respond to discovery and only raised the political-subdivision immunity defense for the first time in an untimely motion for summary judgment, after the deadlines for dispositive motions had passed. The trial court struck the city’s motion and later denied the city’s request for leave to amend its answer to add the immunity defense, finding the delay unjustified and prejudicial.The Seventh District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision, holding that the city’s general assertion of failure to state a claim did not preserve the specific defense of political-subdivision immunity, and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend the answer. The Supreme Court of Ohio agreed, holding that a party does not preserve the defense of political-subdivision immunity under R.C. Chapter 2744 by merely asserting failure to state a claim, and that unjustified and prejudicial inaction supported the denial of leave to amend the answer. The judgment of the court of appeals was affirmed. View "Durig v. Youngstown" on Justia Law

Nathan Gault was a party to a divorce action in the Medina County Court of Common Pleas. After the case concluded, the clerk charged him various fees, including a “Clerk Computer Operation” fee. Gault believed he had been overcharged, specifically challenging the additional dollar per page fee assessed for making a complete record of the proceedings. He filed a class-action complaint against the clerk, the county treasurer, and the county itself, alleging that the clerk charged him $125 in computer-operation fees, which was over $100 more than statutorily authorized.The Medina County Court of Common Pleas initially granted judgment on the pleadings for the defendants, finding Gault’s claim barred by res judicata. The Ninth District Court of Appeals reversed, holding that res judicata did not apply because the total amount owed and the methodology for determining the fees were not ascertainable from the final judgment in the divorce action, and the defendants were not parties to the prior proceedings. On remand, the trial court again ruled for the defendants, interpreting the statutes to permit the clerk to charge two dollars per page—one dollar under R.C. 2303.20(H) and an additional dollar under former R.C. 2303.201(B)(1). The Ninth District reversed, concluding that only one additional dollar total could be charged for the service, not one dollar per page.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case, consolidating a discretionary appeal and a certified conflict. The court held that, under the plain text of former R.C. 2303.201(B)(1), the clerk may charge only one additional dollar total for making a complete record under R.C. 2303.20(H), regardless of the number of pages. The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the judgment of the Ninth District Court of Appeals. View "State ex rel. Gault v. Medina Cty. Court of Common Pleas Clerk" on Justia Law

A private citizen sought to obtain specific health data from the Ohio Department of Health to research the effects of COVID-19 vaccinations. The department maintains databases containing death and vaccination information, which can be exported into spreadsheets using specialized software. The requester initially asked for spreadsheets with over 100 data fields spanning several years, later narrowing the request to a single year and specifying redaction of protected health information. The department denied the request, stating that the records did not exist in the requested format, that fulfilling the request would require creating new records, and that it could not guarantee the protection of private information.After the department’s denial, the requester filed an original action in the Supreme Court of Ohio, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel production of the requested spreadsheets. The department argued that the request would require it to run new queries and generate new files, which it was not obligated to do under Ohio’s Public Records Act. The court admitted rebuttal evidence from the requester, including affidavits addressing whether similar data had previously been provided and the nature of attorney’s fees incurred.The Supreme Court of Ohio held that the department was not required to create new records in response to a public records request. The court reasoned that programming a new query to extract and organize specific information from existing databases constitutes creating a new record, which is beyond the department’s legal obligations. As a result, the court denied the writ of mandamus and the requester’s claims for statutory damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees. View "State ex rel. Huwig v. Dept. of Health" on Justia Law

Seven petitions were filed with the Lucas County Board of Elections to recall the mayor and six members of the Maumee city council under R.C. 705.92. The board found the petitions valid and certified the recall questions for a special primary election. The City of Maumee and a citizen, Glenn Rambo, protested, arguing that the city’s charter does not provide for recall, R.C. 705.92 does not apply to the city, and the petitions did not comply with the statute. The board denied the protests.The relators sought a writ of prohibition to prevent the board from placing the recall questions on the ballot and a writ of mandamus to order the board to grant their protests. The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case. The court found that Maumee’s charter allows for the removal of elected officials as provided by the Constitution or laws of Ohio, but R.C. 705.92 does not apply to Maumee because it was not adopted under R.C. 705.03. The court held that the board erred in deeming R.C. 705.92 applicable to Maumee.The Supreme Court of Ohio granted the writ of prohibition, preventing the board from placing the recall questions on the ballot, and denied the writ of mandamus as moot. The court concluded that the recall procedure in R.C. 705.92 is not generally applicable to municipalities and can only be adopted as part of a statutory plan of government under R.C. 705.03, which Maumee did not do. View "State ex rel. Maumee v. Lucas County Board of Elections" on Justia Law

An inmate, Thomas Clark, filed a mandamus action against the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) seeking copies of electronic kites he sent to prison staff while incarcerated at the North Central Correctional Complex (NCCC) and the Lebanon Correctional Institution (LCI). He also requested a copy of the chow-hall menu from LCI. Clark claimed that his requests were not fulfilled and sought $2,000 in statutory damages and court costs.The lower court proceedings involved Clark sending public-records requests to LCI staff. The LCI staff forwarded his request for NCCC kites to the appropriate person at NCCC, but Clark did not receive a response. For the chow-hall menu request, LCI staff directed Clark to obtain the menu from his unit manager, which Clark did not do. Clark then filed this mandamus action.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and found that Clark was entitled to a writ of mandamus for his request for the NCCC kites because LCI staff had forwarded his request to NCCC, and NCCC did not respond. The court held that DRC must provide Clark with the requested NCCC kites. However, the court denied the writ for the chow-hall menu request, as LCI staff had properly directed Clark to the appropriate person to obtain the menu. The court awarded Clark $1,000 in statutory damages for the NCCC kites request but denied his request for court costs. The court also denied Clark's motion for leave to file rebuttal evidence. View "State ex rel. Clark v. Department of Rehabilitation and Correction" on Justia Law

Delanor L. Macksyn, an inmate at the Richland Correctional Institution, filed an original action against Department of Rehabilitation and Correction employees Kenneth Spencer, LeAnn Walker-Williams, and Kelly Rose. Macksyn sought a writ of mandamus to compel the production of records in response to multiple public-records requests and an award of statutory damages. His requests included emails, kites, grievances, and video footage.The lower court proceedings involved Spencer assuming responsibility for answering public-records requests and responding to Macksyn’s various requests. Spencer provided some of the requested records, including kites and grievances, and allowed Macksyn to view the requested video footage. However, there was a dispute over whether all requested records, particularly emails, had been produced.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and found that while Spencer had provided some records, there was insufficient evidence to confirm that all requested emails had been produced. The court issued a limited writ of mandamus ordering the respondents to, within 21 days, either produce the requested emails and certify the date of production or certify that no responsive emails exist. The court deferred ruling on Macksyn’s request for statutory damages until the respondents complied with the limited writ. The court also denied several motions filed by Macksyn, including motions to strike respondents’ brief and for judicial notice. View "State ex rel. Macksyn v. Spencer" on Justia Law

The case involves Pavan V. Parikh, the Hamilton County clerk of courts, who implemented a policy in May 2022 that eliminated remote online access to court records in residential-eviction cases older than three years from the date of judgment satisfaction. Parikh argued that this policy was to prevent misuse of court documents by the public, such as employers and landlords. The judges of the Hamilton County Municipal Court objected to this policy and issued Administrative Order No. 23-45 in October 2023, directing Parikh to rescind the policy and restore online access to the records. Parikh did not comply, leading to the judges threatening contempt proceedings.Parikh filed a complaint for a writ of prohibition in the First District Court of Appeals to prevent the judges from enforcing the administrative order and holding him in contempt. The judges counterclaimed, requesting a writ of mandamus to compel Parikh to comply with their order. The court of appeals, with visiting judges from the Twelfth District, ruled in favor of the judges, granting their motion for judgment on the pleadings on the prohibition claim and issuing a writ of mandamus ordering Parikh to rescind his policy and comply with the administrative order.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and affirmed the court of appeals' judgment. The court held that Parikh had a clear legal duty under R.C. 1901.31(E) to comply with the judges' administrative order. The court also determined that Parikh had an adequate remedy through appeal if held in contempt, and the judges did not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction to hold him in contempt for noncompliance. Therefore, the court affirmed the denial of Parikh's request for a writ of prohibition and the granting of the judges' request for a writ of mandamus. View "State ex rel. Parikh v. Berkowitz" on Justia Law

Ronald Ayers, an inmate at the Lake Erie Correctional Institution, petitioned for a writ of mandamus to compel Laura Sackett, the prison's records custodian, to produce public records. Ayers requested a copy of the Department of Administrative Services’ general retention schedule and video footage from a security search of his cell on August 31, 2023. Sackett denied the requests, claiming the retention schedule was not specific to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and that the video footage was not preserved as it did not document a "qualifying event."The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case after Ayers filed his petition. The court found that Ayers did not need to exhaust administrative remedies before filing for mandamus. The court determined that the requested video footage did not exist at the time of Ayers' request, as it had been recorded over, and thus Sackett correctly denied this request. However, the court found that the general retention schedule was a public record received and used by the prison, and Sackett's denial of this request was not justified.The Supreme Court of Ohio granted Ayers' writ of mandamus in part, ordering Sackett to produce the retention schedule. The court awarded Ayers $1,000 in statutory damages for the improper denial of the retention schedule but denied his request for court costs due to his affidavit of indigency. The court denied Ayers' motions for discovery as moot. View "State ex rel. Ayers v. Sackett" on Justia Law