State ex rel. Harris v. Pureval (Slip Opinion), 121 N.E.3d 337

In 1991 Lionel Harris was convicted of aggravated murder; Judge Donald Schott presided and orally sentenced, but the sentencing entry was signed by Judge Thomas Nurre "for Schott, J."
Harris previously litigated that signed entry; this court held a judge may sign for an assigned judge when the entry correctly reflects the sentence and assigned judge’s name (State ex rel. Harris).
On April 18, 2017 Harris sent a certified public-records request to the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts seeking six items related to case No. B-910789 (assignment documents, certain judgment entries, and a costs-satisfied document).
The clerk did not respond; Harris sued in the court of appeals for a writ of mandamus seeking production and $1,000 in statutory damages under R.C. 149.43(C)(2).
The court of appeals converted the clerk’s motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment, found the requested relief either had been granted or was impossible (because some records did not exist), and denied the writ and statutory damages.
The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and issued a limited writ ordering the clerk to produce any certificate of assignment signed by the Chief Justice (or state that none exists); it rejected statutory damages and denied relief for requests where no record exists.

Issue	Harris's Argument	Pureval's Argument	Held
whether statutory damages under the Public Records Act apply	Pureval violated R.C. 149.43 by failing to respond; seek $100/day up to $1,000	Court records fall under the Rules of Superintendence, not the Public Records Act	Public Records Act inapplicable; statutory damages denied
proper remedial vehicle for court records access	R.C. 149.43 applies to compel production	Sup.R. 44–47 are sole vehicle for records in actions after July 1, 2009	Mandamus under Rules of Superintendence is the correct remedy
whether requested assignment/certificate documents exist or relief is moot	Harris claims he never received assignment documents (requests 1,3,5)	Clerk produced docket/affidavit showing some documents do not exist or were already provided	Writ granted limitedly for request 3 (produce certificate of assignment if it exists or state none exists); requests seeking non-existent records denied
request for judicial notice of court’s assignment records	Harris asked court to take judicial notice of assignment records to show Schott was assigned	Court said it lacks necessary supplied information and limited retention/electronic records	Judicial-notice request denied; court will not independently consult its assignment records

State ex rel. Harris v. Hamilton Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 139 Ohio St.3d 149 (court held one judge may sign a sentencing entry for an assigned judge when the entry correctly reflects the sentence and assigned judge’s name)
State ex rel. Richfield v. Laria, 138 Ohio St.3d 168 (Rules of Superintendence Sup.R. 44–47 are the sole vehicle for access to court records after July 1, 2009)
State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Lyons, 140 Ohio St.3d 7 (mandamus is available to enforce access under the Rules of Superintendence)
Cleveland Constr., Inc. v. Villanueva, 186 Ohio App.3d 258 (Rules of Superintendence do not authorize statutory damages)