State ex rel. Striker v. Smith, 129 Ohio St. 3d 168

Striker sought access to specific public records from the Shepherd case held by the Mansfield Municipal Court clerk.
Clerk stated records were in Judge Payton's custody and would not be public until returned to the clerk's office.
Striker petitioned the court of appeals for a writ of mandamus and for statutory damages and attorney fees.
The clerk later provided three of the four requested records; the remaining record was disputed as nonexistent or not public.
The court of appeals denied mandamus and damages; on review, the supreme court affirmed, holding the clerk was not obligated to produce nonexistent records and the MOOTness of part of the claim affected damages.
Pre-Supreme Court Rules: Sup.R. 44–47 applicability was not retroactive to Striker’s 2006 request, but the core public-records issue remained governed by R.C. 149.43.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether mandamus is proper to compel access to public records	Striker argues clerk must disclose public Shepherd records.	Smith contends records were not in clerk's possession and thus not subject to mandamus.	Yes; petition denied as moot regarding most records; applicable to records in clerk's possession.
Whether the clerk can be liable for statutory damages and fees when requested records were not in his possession	Striker seeks damages for delays in providing records.	Clerk had no duty for records not in possession; payments inappropriate.	No; damages/fees denied where records were not in clerk’s possession.
Whether the court of appeals properly concluded that a disputed 12/20/2006 remand record did not exist	Striker argued a journal entry evidenced the remand exists; thus the record exists.	Clerk showed no remand order and the entry may relate to another record; some records were provided.	Yes; record not established; clerk not obligated to provide nonexistent records.

State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Winkler, 101 Ohio St.3d 382 (2004-Ohio-1581) (court records fall within broad definition of public records)
State ex rel. WBNS TV, Inc. v. Dues, 101 Ohio St.3d 406 (2004-Ohio-1497) (any record used by a court to render a decision is a public record)
State ex rel. Toledo Blade Co. v. Toledo-Lucas Cty. Port Auth., 121 Ohio St.3d 537 (2009-Ohio-1767) (public-records mandamus moot where records disclosed)
State ex rel. Lanham v. Smith, 112 Ohio St.3d 527 (2007-Ohio-609) (no duty to provide records not in possession)
State ex rel. Mahajan v. State Med. Bd. of Ohio, 127 Ohio St.3d 497 (2010-Ohio-5995) (deny statutory damages when claims lack merit)
State v. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 108 Ohio St.3d 288 (2006-Ohio-903) (mandamus appropriate to enforce public records act)