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Why Ohio Court Records are Available to the Public?
In 1954, the Ohio State Legislature passed a law named the Ohio Open Records Law. This law was enabled with the last changes in 2008 and aims to ensure disclosure of court records and other public records to the public.
What Court Records Access Means To You?
The law is similar to the Ohio Open Meeting Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted. The Ohio Open Records Law is a series of the law signed by the legislature to grant access to all public records at all government levels in the state of Ohio.
Accountability to the Public
When the legislature enacted Ohio Public Records Law, it expressively declared that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state, Availability of public records for inspection and copying. In Ohio, access to the government and court records, in particular, has been deemed a fundamental interest in citizenship and has emphasized that maxim disclosure of the conduct of governmental operations [is] to be promoted by the act. By promoting prompt public access to government records, the Ohio Public Records Law is intended to safeguard the accountability of government to the public.
How the Ohio Court Process Functions?
Most cases in Ohio courts begin in one of the 88 superior or trial courts located in each of the state’s 88 counties.
The next level of judicial authority resides with the Court of Appeals. Most cases before the Court of Appeals involves the review of a superior court decision being contested by a party involved in the case.
The Supreme Court serves as the highest court in the state and has the discretion to review decisions of the Court of Appeals in order to settle important questions of law and to resolve conflicts among the Court of Appeals.
Some differences between Civil Court and Small Claims Court below
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