State v. Moore, 2012 Ohio 4483

Appellant Moore was charged with rape, but found not guilty after a jury trial (Case No. 2010CR1438).
Moore moved December 7, 2010 to seal all official records of arrest under R.C. 2953.52, attaching judgment entries showing the not guilty verdict.
The trial court overruled the sealing motion without a hearing; remand followed after an earlier appeal from a related remand decision.
An evidentiary hearing was conducted February 1, 2012; the trial court again overruled the sealing motion on February 3, 2012.
Moore appealed, arguing the court abused its discretion by denying sealing; the appellate court reviewed the trial record and held the absence of a transcript limited its review.
The appellate court affirmed, concluding sealing is discretionary and Moore failed to meet the statutory requirements or provide sufficient evidence; transcript omission prevented full review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion denying sealing	Moore argues he should be sealed after acquittal and no sex-offense history	State argues sealing is discretionary and requires proper evidentiary showing	Denied; judgment affirmed, no abuse shown

State v. Haney, 70 Ohio App.3d 135 (1991) (sealing is a privilege; burden on petitioner; need hearing and balancing factors)
Knapp v. Edwards Laboratories, 61 Ohio St.2d 197 (1980) (appellant must provide transcript and show error by record)
State v. Newton, 2002-Ohio-5008 (2011) (trial court not abusive when motion lacks specific need)
State v. C.R., 2011-Ohio-6567 (2011) (requires weighing interests and prosecutor objections)
State v. Ellis, 2011-Ohio-5646 (2011) (records review confined to before court; missing transcript limits review)