State ex rel. McDougald v. Sehlmeyer (Slip Opinion), 2020 Ohio 4428

Relator Jerone McDougald, an inmate at Toledo Correctional Institution (TCI), submitted a prison-kite public-records request on Sept. 24, 2019 seeking a use-of-force report.
Records custodian Sonrisa Sehlmeyer replied Sept. 30 that McDougald had "insufficient funds" and asked him to resubmit a cash slip when funds were available; she did not state the copying cost.
McDougald filed a mandamus action in the Ohio Supreme Court alleging he had sufficient funds ($1.30 in his complaint; record showed $1.25) and that Sehlmeyer’s response was improper.
Sehlmeyer submitted an affidavit that the institutional cashier determined McDougald lacked sufficient funds; McDougald produced no evidence of the report’s page count or the total copying cost and did not ask Sehlmeyer the cost.
The court issued an alternative writ, received briefs and evidence, and denied the writ, both motions to amend/supplement, and requests for statutory damages and court costs.

Issue	McDougald's Argument	Sehlmeyer's Argument	Held
Whether declining to provide copies because an inmate lacks funds violated the Public Records Act	Sehlmeyer falsely denied request despite McDougald having funds	She did not deny; she conditionally declined based on a good-faith cashier determination that funds were insufficient	Denied—custodian may decline when she reasonably (in good faith) believes requester cannot pay copying costs
Whether McDougald proved entitlement to mandamus by clear and convincing evidence	His account balance (asserted $1.30; record shows $1.25) established ability to pay	No evidence showing copying cost or page count; cashier assessment supports custodian’s action	Denied—McDougald failed to show cost vs. balance and did not meet clear-and-convincing standard
Whether statutory damages or court costs are warranted for alleged bad faith	Requests statutory damages and costs for bad-faith denial	No noncompliance or bad faith; costs available only if writ granted or bad faith shown	Denied—no statutory damages or court costs awarded
Whether leave to amend/supplement should be granted (account balance; delivery method)	Sought to amend balance to $1.25 and to add that the kite was hand-delivered to satisfy delivery requirement for damages	Amendments unnecessary because merits fail and delivery method irrelevant absent entitlement to damages	Denied—no need to amend and delivery-method issue immaterial given outcome

State ex rel. Physicians Commt. for Responsible Medicine v. Ohio State Univ. Bd. of Trustees, 108 Ohio St.3d 288 (2006) (mandamus is an appropriate remedy to enforce the Public Records Act)
State ex rel. Call v. Fragale, 104 Ohio St.3d 276 (2004) (public offices must make copies available at cost; records need not be free)
State ex rel. Mayrides v. Whitehall, 62 Ohio App.3d 225 (1990) (custodian acts within discretion when declining records based on good-faith belief requester cannot pay)
State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Sage, 142 Ohio St.3d 392 (2015) (plaintiff seeking mandamus must prove right to relief by clear and convincing evidence)
State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Hamilton Cty., 75 Ohio St.3d 374 (1996) (Public Records Act construed liberally in favor of disclosure)