State ex rel. Warren Newspapers, Inc. v. Hutson

640 N.E.2d 174, 70 Ohio St. 3d 619
Ohio Supreme Court·Decided October 26, 1994·No. No. 93-1812·Published·Cited by 100 cases

Opinions

Pfeifer, J.

Relator asserts in its propositions of law that (1) the Warren Police Department must make its public records available for inspection at all times, since it operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, (2) the Warren Police Department must make its records available for inspection in the order in which they are organized, (3) the Warren Police Department must make its public records available “at cost,” which does not include labor costs or charges for employee time, (4) the Warren Police Department’s misconduct requires the broadest possible mandamus relief, and (5) relator is entitled to an award of attorney fees. Relator claims that since the settlement of its 1990 lawsuit, the police department has “repeatedly violated the public-records statute and its settlement agreement.”

Relator asserts in its first proposition of law that a municipal police department that operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, must make its public records available for inspection at all times.

In State ex rel. Steckman v. Jackson (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 420, 639 N.E.2d 83, we determined that R.C. 143.43 entitles a relator to a writ of mandamus in order to seek and secure public records when access to the records has been denied. Respondents contend that they have fully complied with R.C. 149.43.

R.C. 149.43(B) provides that “[a]ll public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours.” The statute literally requires only that public records be made “available” for inspection “at all reasonable times during regular business hours.” State ex rel. Fenley v. Ohio Historical Soc. (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 509, 511, 597 N.E.2d 120, 122; State ex rel. Nelson v. Fuerst (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 47, 48, 607 N.E.2d 836, 837-838. Therefore, the initial temporal restriction is “regular business hours” and the further restriction is “all reasonable times” during the first period. Although neither of these phrases is statutorily defined in the Public Records Act, R.C. 149.43 should generally be construed to further broad access, State ex rel. Cater v. N. Olmsted (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 315, 320, 631 N.E.2d 1048, 1053, and any doubt should be resolved in favor of disclosure of public records. State ex rel. Cincinnati Post v. Schweikert (1988), 38 Ohio St.3d 170, 173, 527 N.E.2d 1230, 1232.

Relator relies upon Hengel v. Pine Bluff (1991), 307 Ark. 457, 821 S.W.2d 761, to support its proposition that respondents have a duty to provide records at all times, since the Warren Police Department operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In Hengel, supra, 307 Ark. at 464, 821 S.W.2d at 765, the Arkansas Supreme Court held:

[622]*622“Appellants’ final argument is that it was error for the circuit court to hold that the public’s access to the records of the Pine Bluff Police Department was limited to 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excepting legal holidays. We cannot sustain that holding. The Arkansas FOIA provides that public records are to be open to inspection ‘during regular business hours of the custodian of the records.’ The Pine Bluff Police Department operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When the nature of an agency of the public of necessity operates twenty-four hours a day, it follows that in the absence of some showing to the contrary that those are its ‘regular business hours.’ ”

However, the Arkansas Public Records Act, as construed in Hengel, is broader than Ohio’s Act, which allows the additional limitation of “all reasonable times” during the custodian’s regular business hours.

State ex rel. Butler Cty. Bar Assn. v. Robb (1990), 62 Ohio App.3d 298, 575 N.E.2d 497, upheld as not violative of Ohio’s Public Records Act, a custodian’s reduction of regular business hours of the office, apparently for all purposes and not just public records requests, to 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays. One file room was open only until noon on those days, and the reduced business hours may have been due to budget cuts. State ex rel. Butler Cty. Bar Assn., supra, 62 Ohio App.3d at 300, 575 N.E.2d at 498.

In the case at bar, the evidence is that the Warren Police Department operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and that its policy prior to June 28, 1993, was to allow for inspection of public records from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. every day. Shortly following relator’s request and attempt to further inspect records, respondent Hutson purported to establish “regular business hours” for the “Records Division File Room” of 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. daily.

Although respondents contend that the police department records division’s regular business hours were reduced as a result of “budgetary and employee constraints,” they presented no evidence to support this contention. A more reasonable inference from the evidence is that the hours were reduced and “a fictional division” created to retaliate for relator’s records request and unfavorable press coverage concerning the Warren Police Department. Nevertheless, allowing records requests during all hours of the entire department’s operations is unreasonable. Instead, the prior policy of 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. every day, ie., approximating normal administrative hours, is a reasonable period during the department’s regular business hours. Therefore, relator’s first proposition is sustained in part and overruled in part.

Relator asserts in its second proposition of law that respondents created an “artificially slow, complex and irrational process” and forced relator to accept the requested records in a “piecemeal state.” Relator claims that since the Warren [623]*623Police Department maintains the requested records in an “orderly, logical fashion,” the files should be similarly provided to satisfy its public records request. The manner in which the records are organized can add to the value of information contained within records; when such value is added, a new set of enhanced public records is created that must be disclosed to the public. State ex rel. Margolius v. Cleveland (1992), 62 Ohio St.3d 456, 460, 584 N.E.2d 665, 669. Although relator claims that the requested information is kept in an orderly, logical fashion, i.e., personnel files in alphabetical order and incident reports in chronological order, none of the evidence presented supports these assertions.

Nevertheless, relator requested pertinent records on April 6, 1993 and on August 12, 1993. Thus, over four months following the initial request, respondents continued to delay relator’s inspection of the records by claiming a need to review files and redact exempt material.

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State ex rel. Warren Newspapers, Inc. v. Hutson, 640 N.E.2d 174, 70 Ohio St. 3d 619 (Ohio 1994).

640 N.E.2d 174 (State ex rel. Warren Newspapers, Inc. v. Hutson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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