Since September 28, 2016, persons allegedly aggrieved by a violation of public records access can file a complaint under R.C. 2743.74 instead of initiating a mandamus action in common pleas court. While R.C. 2743.75 does not prescribe a standard of proof, the Court of Claims Special Masters and Judges seem to adopt to the “clear and convincing evidence” standard used in mandamus actions. Accordingly, requesters must establish by “clear and convincing evidence” that they are entitled to relief.
Other takeaways from recent Court of Claims decisions include the following:
• A public records request must be made to the specific public office that keeps the desired records.
• A public records request for “all communication” to or from all employees regarding a certain matter may be denied as ambiguous and overly broad because the request gives no timeframe and does not describe the records as they are maintained and accessed. The public office, however, must provide the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by informing the requester of the manner in which records are ordinarily maintained and accessed.
• All public records requests made to a court or arm thereof, such as a probation department, that seek court records in actions commenced after July 1, 2009 must be made pursuant to the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio.
• A proper withholding of a record as a security record under R.C. 149.433(A)(1) does not establish the exception in perpetuity.
• Names of law enforcement officers may be withheld in accordance with the Fourteenth Amendment right of privacy, but once the risk of physical harm or non-physical retaliation recedes, the information must be produced. Officers’ residential and familial records have specific protections, however.
• A public office must respond timely, but it is entitled to the time required to perform any necessary legal review of the request.
• Public meetings are held open to the public at all times and are not conditioned on the physical attendance of members of the public. Meeting minutes must accurately capture a meeting’s contents, and the attorney-client privilege cannot be asserted to withhold any information.