Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

The case involves a public-records request submitted by David Armiak and the Center for Media and Democracy to the Ohio Attorney General. The request sought documents related to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF). The Attorney General refused to produce the documents, arguing they were not public records as defined by Ohio law. Armiak then filed a mandamus action to compel the production of the documents.The Tenth District Court of Appeals handled the initial proceedings. During discovery, the court allowed Armiak to conduct broad discovery to test the Attorney General's claim that the documents were not public records. This included deposing the Attorney General and obtaining extensive documents and interrogatories. The Attorney General sought a protective order to limit this discovery, arguing it was overly burdensome and interfered with his constitutional duties. The Tenth District denied the protective order and allowed the broad discovery to proceed.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case to determine whether the discovery order was appealable. The court found that the order met the criteria for a provisional remedy under R.C. 2505.02(B)(4), as it determined the action regarding the discovery dispute and prevented a judgment in favor of the Attorney General. The court also found that the Attorney General would not be able to obtain effective relief through an appeal following final judgment, as the discovery process itself would cause irreparable harm. Consequently, the Supreme Court of Ohio denied Armiak's motion to dismiss the appeal and set the matter for oral argument. View "State ex rel. Ctr. for Media & Democracy v. Yost" on Justia Law

John H. Mack Jr., serving a life sentence for aggravated murder, filed a mandamus action to compel the Richland County Sheriff’s Office to produce records responsive to his public-records request. Mack also sought statutory damages. His request included eight categories of records related to the seizure of his property and a separate incident.The sheriff’s office argued that three of the eight categories were exempt under R.C. 149.43(B)(8), which restricts incarcerated individuals from obtaining public records related to criminal investigations or prosecutions without a finding from the sentencing judge. The sheriff’s office also claimed to have provided records responsive to the remaining categories, rendering those parts of Mack’s request moot.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case. It found that Mack’s claim was moot regarding five categories of records that had already been provided. The court agreed with the sheriff’s office that Mack had not complied with the statutory requirements for obtaining records related to his criminal investigation or prosecution for two categories. However, the court found insufficient evidence to support the sheriff’s office’s claim that no records existed for the eighth category. The court granted a limited writ ordering the sheriff’s office to either produce records responsive to the eighth category or certify that no such records exist. Mack’s request for statutory damages was denied due to lack of argument in his merit brief.The Supreme Court of Ohio denied the writ as moot for five categories, denied the writ for two categories due to noncompliance with R.C. 149.43(B)(8), and granted a limited writ for the remaining category, ordering the sheriff’s office to produce the records or certify their nonexistence. The request for statutory damages was denied. View "State ex rel. Mack v. Richland Cty. Sheriff's Office" on Justia Law

Kimani E. Ware, currently incarcerated, filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus in the Fifth District Court of Appeals, seeking to compel the Stark County Prosecuting Attorney to produce records in response to a public-records request. Ware claimed he sent the request by certified mail in April 2022, asking for the prosecutor’s office’s employee roster and budget reports from January 2019 to January 2022. The prosecutor denied receiving this request, asserting that the certified mail contained a court filing from another case, not a public-records request.The Fifth District Court of Appeals granted the prosecutor’s motion for summary judgment, denied Ware’s motion for summary judgment, and ruled the writ request moot since the prosecutor provided the requested records after being served with the mandamus complaint. The court also denied Ware’s request for statutory damages and court costs, concluding that Ware did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that he delivered the public-records request in April 2022.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and affirmed the lower court’s judgment. The court held that the prosecutor’s office did not act in bad faith by providing the records after the mandamus complaint was filed, as there was no clear evidence that the public-records request was delivered in April 2022. The court also upheld the denial of statutory damages and court costs, agreeing with the lower court’s findings and procedures. The court concluded that the prosecutor’s response time of 11 days after receiving the mandamus complaint was reasonable. View "State ex rel. Ware v. Stone" on Justia Law

The relator, Jumaane Scott, filed an action requesting a writ of mandamus to compel the Toledo Correctional Institution (TCI) to produce public records. Scott claimed that between April and July 2023, he made four separate requests for public records, including body-camera footage from three different correction officers and a vegetarian diet menu. He alleged that TCI staff denied his requests or failed to respond. Scott sought the production of these records, statutory damages, and court costs.The case was initially reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ohio. TCI filed a motion to dismiss, which was denied, leading to the issuance of an alternative writ. TCI conceded most of Scott’s factual allegations but argued that the requested body-camera footage did not exist. TCI’s evidence included an affidavit from Derek Burkhart, the warden’s assistant, stating that the footage was not saved and therefore did not exist. Scott did not provide contrary evidence to rebut this claim.The Supreme Court of Ohio denied Scott’s request for a writ of mandamus, finding that the body-camera footage did not exist and that TCI had no obligation to produce nonexistent records. The court also denied Scott’s request for the vegetarian diet menu because his petition did not explicitly seek relief for that request. Additionally, the court denied Scott’s requests for statutory damages and court costs, concluding that Scott failed to demonstrate that TCI did not meet its obligations under the Public Records Act or acted in bad faith.In summary, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that TCI had no duty to produce nonexistent records and that Scott was not entitled to statutory damages or court costs. The court denied the writ of mandamus and all associated requests for relief. View "State ex rel. Scott v. Toledo Corr. Inst." on Justia Law

The Stark County Board of Elections considered and voted to purchase Dominion Voting Systems equipment during four meetings. These discussions and decisions occurred in executive sessions, which are closed to the public. Look Ahead America and Merry Lynne Rini filed a complaint alleging that the board violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act by not limiting its executive-session discussions to matters where premature disclosure would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage.The Stark County Court of Common Pleas upheld the board’s actions, interpreting R.C. 121.22(G)(2) to mean that the premature-disclosure clause applied only to the last-listed reason for entering executive session, not to the purchase of property. The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed this decision, agreeing with the trial court’s interpretation.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and disagreed with the lower courts. The court held that the premature-disclosure clause in R.C. 121.22(G)(2) applies to all the permissible reasons listed for entering executive session, not just the last one. The court reversed the Fifth District’s judgment and remanded the case to the trial court for a new trial applying this interpretation. View "Look Ahead Am. v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Elections" on Justia Law

Marc D. Curtis, an inmate at the North Central Correctional Complex, requested records from the Cleveland Municipal Court Clerk, Earle B. Turner, related to his criminal case. Curtis sought documents including arrest warrants, DNA search warrants, and cellphone search warrants. The clerk provided some documents but withheld others, citing that Curtis, as an inmate, could not access certain records without a judge's approval per R.C. 149.43(B)(8). Curtis filed a mandamus complaint to compel the clerk to produce the remaining records or confirm their nonexistence.The Eighth District Court of Appeals denied Curtis's writ of mandamus. The court relied on an affidavit from Ronald Tabor, the clerk’s assistant director, who stated that the clerk did not possess the requested records. The court found this affidavit sufficient to establish that the records were not in the clerk’s possession and noted that respondents are not required to create or provide access to nonexistent records.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and affirmed the Eighth District's judgment. The court held that Curtis failed to provide clear and convincing evidence that the clerk possessed the requested records. The court also denied Curtis's motion to take judicial notice of new documents and granted the clerk's motion to strike certain personal information from the record. The court concluded that the clerk had adequately demonstrated that the requested records were not in his possession, and Curtis did not rebut this evidence. View "State ex rel. Curtis v. Turner" on Justia Law

In April 2012, Arnold Black was arrested during a traffic stop by East Cleveland police officers without any legitimate reason. Detective Randy Hicks violently assaulted Black and detained him in a storage room for four days. Black sued Hicks, Chief Ralph Spotts, and the City of East Cleveland for his injuries. In August 2019, a jury awarded Black $20 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages against Hicks and Spotts each. The trial court also awarded Black $5.2 million in prejudgment interest.The City of East Cleveland and Spotts appealed to the Eighth District Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court’s judgment. The Ohio Supreme Court declined jurisdiction over their discretionary appeal, and the United States Supreme Court denied the city’s petition for a writ of certiorari. Despite these rulings, the city failed to satisfy the judgment or take steps to appropriate the necessary funds.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and granted Black’s request for a writ of mandamus. The court held that Black had a clear legal right to enforcement of the civil judgment and that the city had a legal duty to pay the judgment, including pre- and postjudgment interest. The court ordered the city to satisfy the judgment or take the necessary steps to appropriate the funds as described in R.C. 2744.06(A). The court rejected the city’s argument that a pending trial-court motion could reduce the amount owed, noting that Black had established the exact amount of money owed with sufficient evidence. View "State ex rel. Black v. Cleveland" on Justia Law

Brian M. Ames sought a writ of mandamus to compel the Three Rivers Local School District Records Commission to produce records in response to his public-records request. Ames requested meeting notification rules, meeting minutes, meeting notices, and records retention schedules for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. The commission provided some documents but not all, leading Ames to file this action.The commission initially provided Ames with a 2023 meeting-notification policy and unsigned meeting minutes via a website link. After Ames filed his complaint, the commission provided additional documents, including a policy effective in 2021 and 2022, signed minutes for 2022, and records retention schedules for 2021 and 2022. The commission stated that no separate meeting-notification rules for the commission existed, no minutes for 2021 existed, and the 2023 meeting had not yet occurred at the time of the request.The Supreme Court of Ohio reviewed the case and found that the commission had produced all documents in its possession responsive to Ames’s request. The court denied the writ of mandamus as moot, as Ames did not provide evidence to refute the commission’s claims. The court also denied Ames’s requests for statutory damages, attorney fees, and court costs. The court noted that Ames, as a pro se litigant, was not entitled to attorney fees and that he waived his request for court costs by not arguing for them in his merit brief. The court also denied Ames’s motion to strike certain exhibits submitted by the commission. View "State ex rel. Ames v. Three Rivers Local School Dist. Records Comm." on Justia Law

Kimani E. Ware filed a mandamus action under Ohio’s Public Records Act, seeking an order compelling John Pierce to produce certain public records and requesting statutory damages. Pierce is employed by Aramark Correctional Services, a private company providing food services to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s (ODRC) facilities. Ware had requested a copy of the food menu and calorie counts for meals served at Trumbull Correctional Institution (TCI), but Pierce responded that such information was either not available or could be obtained from dieticians.The case was initially reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ohio. Ware’s application for default judgment was denied, and an alternative writ was granted, requiring both parties to submit evidence and briefs. Pierce argued that he was not a public official and thus had no duty to respond to Ware’s requests under the Public Records Act. The court ordered the parties to provide additional evidence and briefs, which they did.The Supreme Court of Ohio held that Ware failed to meet his burden of proving that Aramark, Pierce’s employer, was the functional equivalent of a public office. The court applied the functional-equivalency test, which considers factors such as whether the entity performs a governmental function, the level of government funding, the extent of government involvement or regulation, and whether the entity was created by the government. The court found insufficient evidence to determine that Aramark was the functional equivalent of a public office. Consequently, Pierce had no duty to provide the requested records, and Ware’s request for a writ of mandamus was denied. View "State ex rel. Ware v. Pierce" on Justia Law

The case revolves around a public-records request dispute between Kimani Ware and Glenn Booth, the public-information officer at the Trumbull Correctional Institution. Ware alleges that he personally handed over a request for public records to Booth, who signed for it and promised to process it the following week. However, Ware claims he never received the records and, after sending three follow-up letters to Booth, decided to sue him for a writ of mandamus and statutory damages. Booth, on the other hand, denies receiving any follow-up letters from Ware and asserts that Ware has submitted fabricated evidence to the court.Previously, Booth filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that Ware failed to verify his mandamus complaint with a proper affidavit and that the evidence of delivery of Ware's public-records request is at best "evenly balanced". However, the Supreme Court of Ohio denied the motion, stating that a motion for judgment on the pleadings does not allow a court to weigh the evidence; instead, it simply tests the sufficiency of the complaint.The Supreme Court of Ohio decided to grant an alternative writ and refer the case to a master commissioner for a full evidentiary hearing. This decision was made due to Booth's allegations that Ware has committed fraud and submitted a fraudulent document. The court noted that either Booth or Ware is lying, and the best way to determine the truth is to conduct an evidentiary hearing where witnesses can be called to testify and be subject to cross-examination. The hearing will also allow the court to decide whether a writ of mandamus is appropriate and if Ware should be sanctioned for presenting fabricated evidence. View "State ex rel. Ware v. Booth" on Justia Law