Ruling protects court documents from new public records appeals process
Ohio’s new appeals process for obtaining public records does not apply to court records, according to a recent ruling from the Court of Claims. The decision comes in response to The Columbus Dispatch’s attempt to access court documents from a high-profile divorce case between two public officials. When a Delaware County judge sealed the documents and withheld the request, The Dispatch opposed. Upon reviewing the case, an Ohio Court of Claims judge “dismissed the complaint, ruling that the courts have controlled their own records since mid-2009 and that the law creating the appeals process only permits appeals of public records denials by executive-level agencies.”
