Ohio Supreme Court restores remote public access to Hamilton County eviction records

(CN) — The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Hamilton County must allow online access to all residential eviction records regardless of when they were filed.

In its per curiam ruling, the high court ruled that Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh’s decision to restrict online remote access violated judges’ discretion on such matters.

“Parikh had previously placed the records of all eviction cases online. He then removed the records of eviction cases that were more than three years old, making a policy decision that the privacy rights of the defendants outweighed the public’s right to know about the cases. This policy decision to restrict public access to certain court records infringes on the judges’ authority to make such decisions,” Ohio’s high court wrote.

The policy was issued by Parikh in May 2022, and specifically blocked remote online access to eviction records with judgments older than three years.

A group of municipal judges disliked the policy and requested that Parikh place a disclaimer on the website stating that eviction records older than three years would be excluded from search results.

Parikh refused and instead placed a different disclaimer stating that the clerk was not required to offer remote access to any case file or document.

The judges then issued an order requiring Parikh to rescind the policy and issued an order of contempt after he refused to restore access.

The dispute then entered court where the Ohio Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the judges, and the case eventually landed with the state Supreme Court.

The court also ruled on a contempt order issued against Parikh for his noncompliance with an administrative order to rescind the policy, finding that the judges had the authority to find him in contempt.

“He contends that as an elected official, he should be allowed discretion in how to carry out his duties. But even if he is correct that he should be granted some discretion, such discretion would not affect the jurisdiction of the municipal court,” wrote the court.

Hamilton County Municipal Court Administrative and Presiding Judge Josh Berkowitz championed the ruling.

“The court welcomes the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to reject the clerk’s lawsuit against the Municipal Court, ending a costly and unnecessary legal battle. Public records belong to the people, who have the right to access them without government interference,” said Berkowitz.

Courthouse News is currently involved in federal litigation against Parikh for timely access to newly filed complaints in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Both parties in that case have submitted briefings in support of motions for summary judgment following a federal judge’s refusal to dismiss the case.