IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
NINTHS APPELLATE DISTRICT
SUMMIT COUNTY, XXX
XXX
XXXX
Relator
vs.
SUMMIT COUNTY DOMESTIC
RELATIONS COURT
XXXX,
Respondent
Case Number: CA 30485
_________________________________________________
COMPLAINT FOR WRIT OF PROHIBITION
_________________________________________________
I. Preliminary Statement
Relator seeks this Court directing the Respondent to grant Relator access to the
recordings of the hearings in Relator’s case (Case No. Dr-2015-02-0348). Said matter was
Relator’s custody case for his son, Sebastian Gleghorn-Lewis. Relator has been trying to access
the recordings, but has been unsuccessful.
II. Parties
Relator:
XXXX of address XXXX
Respondent:
Summit County Domestic Relations Court, of address XXXX.
III. Jurisdiction and the Standard for Issuing a Writ of Prohibition
This court has original jurisdiction over this matter under Article IV, § 3(B)(1)(d) of the
XXX Constitution. To be entitled to a writ of prohibition, Relator must establish that (1)
Respondent(s) is/are about to exercise or has exercised judicial power, (2) that exercise of
judicial power was unauthorized by law, and (3) “denying the writ would result in injury for
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which no other adequate remedy exists in the ordinary course of law.” State ex rel. XXXX, 146 Ohio St.3d 91, 2016-Ohio-562, 52 N.E.3d 1176, ¶ 13. If Respondent(s) patently
and unambiguously lack(s) jurisdiction, Relator need not establish that he or she lacks an
adequate remedy at law. State ex rel. Ford .XXXX, XXX
IV. Facts and Legal Analysis.
Facts:
Relator sent an email to Respondent with an online request for his hearing recordings in
his case (Case No. Dr-2015-02-0348). Relator required the hearing records for the past 7 years
the case had been active.
He received an email from Respondent directing him to visit the courthouse in person, to
fill in paperwork to effect his request. Relator then made it to the courthouse where he filled in
the papers and made the request for the hearing recordings for the second time.
Consequently, Relator received an email from Respondent notifying him that he was not
required to write “All” in the request dates. Relator then called Tom, who was in charge of the
Domestic Relations Court. He explained to Tom that it was impossible for him to know the exact
dates for all hearings in the case for the past 7 years. Relator then suggested an alternative. He
asked Tom whether he could look up Relator’s case number and determine the hearing dates.
Tom still maintained that that could not be done, and that the court does not know Relator’s
hearing dates. Tom then directed Relator to find the hearing dates and send an email to him once
he found them.
Realtor then logged in to the Court’s website and accessed the Court Docket for his case.
He then clicked the “hearings” tab, which disclosed dates for the hearings conducted in the case.
Relator then took a screenshot of the dates and emailed the screenshot to Tom. However, after
receiving the email, Tom changed from his previous position. He told Relator that he had to
come to the courthouse in person again, to fill in the papers to access the records.
Relator therefore noted the dates and went to the courthouse where he filled in the
paperwork and entered said date. Two weeks later, he got an email from Respondent informing
him that the dates he included in the paperwork were not the correct hearing dates.
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Legal Reasons for Writ of Prohibition:
Relator’s right to access the court records has been violated
A relator must show the following three elements to obtain a writ of prohibition against a
judge: (1) the exercise of judicial power, (2) the lack of authority for the exercise of that power,
and (3) the lack of an adequate remedy at law. State ex rel. Elder v. Camplese, 144 Ohio St.3d
89, 2015-Ohio-3628, 40 N.E.3d 1138, ¶ 13.
First, Relator asserts that the Respondent has so far exercised judicial power in denying
Relator access to the court recordings. Relator further asserts that the Respondent is about to
exercise its power to further deny Relator access to the recordings.
Next, it is Relator’s contention that the Respondent is not authorized to deny Relator
access to the hearing records. A writ of prohibition will not lie against a trial court unless its
exercise of power is unauthorized by law. State ex rel. Elder v. Camplese, 144 Ohio St.3d 89,
2015-Ohio-3628, 40 N.E.3d 1138, ¶ 13. First, according to Ohio Rev. Code § 149.43(a), "public
record" means records kept by any public office. Accordingly, recordings of court proceedings
are public record and Relator has a clear legal right to access these records. The rationale behind
Ohio’s public records law was succinctly stated by the Oregon Supreme Court in Dayton
Newspapers v. Dayton (1976), 45 Ohio St.2d 107, 74 O.O. 2d 209, 341 N.E.2d 576, where the
Court held:
"`The rule in Ohio is that public records are the people’s records, and that
the officials in whose custody they happen to be are merely trustees for
the people; therefore anyone may inspect such records at any time,
subject only to the limitation that such inspection does not endanger the
safety of the record, or unreasonably interfere with the discharge of the
duties of the officer having custody of the same.’" (Emphasis added). Id. at
109, 74 O.O. 2d at 211, 341 N.E.2d at 577-578 (quoting from State, ex rel.
Patterson, v. Ayers, 171 Ohio St. 369, 14 O.O. 2d 116, 171 N.E.2d 508).
In the instant action, the records of the hearing in Relator’s case are public records. The
Respondent is merely a trustee for the Relator. It follows; Relator is entitled to access and
inspection of the records at any time. It is also noteworthy that granting Relator access to the
court records does not endanger the safety of the records. It also doesn’t interfere with the duties
of Respondent or any of its officers.
Lastly, Relator avers that denying him the writ would result in injury for which there is
no adequate remedy at law. Ordinarily, for an extraordinary writ to issue, a petitioner must show
that no other adequate remedy at law exists. Camplese, 144 Ohio St.3d 89, 2015 Ohio-3628, 40
N.E.3d 1138, at ¶ 13. In the instant action, Relator has no other remedy to have the Respondent
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release the hearing records. Relator has been trying to get the records to no avail. He even made
physical visits to the courthouse to attempt to get the recordings. However, he could not still be
granted access to the records.
Therefore, there is no other adequate remedy at law for Relator.
V. Conclusion
Relator therefore requests this Honorable Court grant Relator’s petition for a writ of
prohibition, compelling Respondent to grant Relator access to the Court’s recordings in Relator’s
case.
Dated: _____________
________________________
XXXXX
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this Complaint for Writ of Prohibition has been sent by regular U.S. mail
to Respondent on [ENTER DATE].
________________________
XXXX
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
NINTHS APPELLATE DISTRICT
SUMMIT COUNTY,XXX
XXXX
vs.
SUMMIT COUNTY DOMESTIC
RELATIONS COURT
XXXX
Respondent
Case Number:XXXX
_________________________________________________
AFFIDAVIT OF VERITY
_________________________________________________
State of XXXX )
) SS:
County of Summit )
XXXX, Relator, being duly sworn states that the allegations contained
in the foregoing complaint are true and accurate as he verily believes.
______________________
Relator
Sworn to and subscribed before me this _______ day _______ of 20____.
______________________
Notary Public
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
NINTHS APPELLATE DISTRICT
SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO
XXXX
Respondent
Case Number: XXX
_________________________________________________
AFFIDAVIT OF CIVIL FILINGS
_________________________________________________
State of XXXX )
) SS:
County of Summit )
ZZZZ Relator, after first being duly sworn and upon personal
knowledge and belief, state the following:
1. I am the Relator and have prepared this Complaint for Writ of Prohibition.
2. The facts referred to herein, and any records incorporated herein by reference, are true
and accurate as known to me.
Affiant further sayeth naught.
______________________
Relator
Sworn to and subscribed before me this _______ day _______ of 20____.
______________________
Notary Public
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