{"id":2928,"date":"2024-11-22T17:45:21","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T17:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ohioerc.org\/?p=2928"},"modified":"2024-11-22T17:45:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T17:45:24","slug":"re-evaluating-a-public-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohioerc.org\/?p=2928","title":{"rendered":"Re-Evaluating a Public Record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recent ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court concerning email distribution lists for a township newsletter helped define a \u201cpublic record\u201d for something simple as a mailing list. Per the recent article from Court News Ohio found here<\/a>, 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<\/a>. 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<\/u><\/strong>, the Supreme Court agreed that the list was a public record per the three elements of a public record\u00a0as defined in ORC 149.011(G)<\/a>. Remember, a public record is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n