State ex rel. Gooden v. Kagel

Summary

The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of Martine Gooden’s mandamus action seeking victim-loss statements from the Marion County Clerk of Courts. The court held that Gooden failed to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C) by omitting the required inmate-account statement and failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the requested documents existed or were in the clerk’s possession or control.

Holdings

1. An inmate who seeks waiver of filing fees in a mandamus action must comply with R.C. 2969.25(C), including attaching a statement of the inmate account; failure to do so is a fatal defect warranting dismissal.
2. A relator seeking public records through mandamus must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the requested records exist and that the respondent has a legal duty to produce them; an unsubstantiated allegation that the records exist is insufficient.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Gooden's mandamus petition was fatally defective because he failed to attach the inmate-account statement and other documentation required by R.C. 2969.25.
2. Whether Gooden was entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling the clerk to produce victim-loss statements when he failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the statements existed or were in the clerk's possession or control.

Disposition

affirmed