A recent ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court concerning email distribution lists for a township newsletter helped define a “public record” for something simple as a mailing list. Per the recent article from Court News Ohio found here, there were some back-and-forth disputes concerning a 2022 public records request for the township newsletter email distribution list. The requester originally had his request denied by the township, but he argued that the list is a public record and contained no exempted information as found in ORC 149.43. While the township claimed the list did not document the activities of the office and was developed/maintained by a vendor, in Hicks v. Union Township, the Supreme Court agreed that the list was a public record per the three elements of a public record as defined in ORC 149.011(G). Remember, a public record is:
- “Any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, including an electronic record as defined in section 1306.01 of the Revised Code”,
- “Created or received by or coming under the jurisdiction of any public office of the state or its political subdivisions”,
- And “serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office”.
As always, when working with public records requests, it is important to have your office’s legal counsel review the request, the responsive records, and the response sent. The case can be found here: Hicks v. Union Twp. Clermont Cty. Bd. of Trustees.