Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

An electronically submitted document may be filed under seal only if a Motion to File Document under Seal with a Proposed Entry is e-filed first and the documents are uploaded behind the proposed entry.

The Clerk shall not accept any document to be filed under seal unless a motion to make the filing has been e-Filed using Motion to File Document under Seal with a Proposed Entry. The documents requested to be filed under Seal in the Motion should be uploaded behind the Proposed Entry.

CRITICAL

The clerk must place paper records in a numbered sealed envelope and secure it in a designated location.

3. The clerk shall seal the paper records in a sealed envelope. The sealed envelope is assigned a number and secured in a designated location.

CRITICAL

The clerk must notify all public offices or agencies that may possess an official case record.

1. The clerk shall issue notice to all public offices or agencies that may have an official record pertaining to the case. ORC 2953.35, 2953.36, 2953.39, and 2953.521.

CRITICAL

If an application to seal or expunge a record is approved, the court signs and files an order, and the clerk dockets and processes the order on the date of issuance.

(A) Application to Seal or Expunge a Record is Granted 1. If the Application is approved, the court will sign an order to seal or expunge the record and file with the clerk. 2. Upon receipt of an order to seal the conviction record, the clerk shall docket and process the order on the date of issuance.

CRITICAL

Any pleading or filed document containing a victim’s name and address must include a redacted public copy, while the unredacted copy must be placed in the confidential case-file folder unavailable for public viewing.

37.03 Due to images being available online for public viewing, ALL pleadings and documents filed with the Court that include the victim(s) name and address must also include a redacted copy to be placed in the case file. The unredacted copy will be placed in the “confidential” folder within the case file that is not for public viewing.

CRITICAL

Other personal and private information must be replaced with “REDACTED” in court documents.

c. For any other personal and private information, the information shall be replaced with “REDACTED”.

CRITICAL

The clerk must seal the electronic record in the case management system to prevent public access and searches.

1. The clerk shall seal the electronic record within the case management system to remove public access and public searches.

CRITICAL

All documents and information assembled in considering a CQE petition must remain confidential and sealed, must remain sealed when transmitted to the Court of Appeals, and may be opened only by court order.

All documents and information assembled by the Court in its consideration of the Petition for CQE shall be deemed confidential and not a public record. Such documents and information shall be treated with the same level of confidentiality as a pre-sentence report and shall be kept sealed and transmitted in a sealed condition to the Court of Appeals in the event of appellate review, and shall not be opened except upon an order of the Court.

CRITICAL

When personal identifiers are included in a filed document, all digits except the last four must be redacted for social security numbers, financial account numbers, and other personal identification numbers.

For social security numbers, financial account numbers, or other personal identification numbers, all but the last four digits of the number shall be redacted.

CRITICAL

Social security numbers and other information that must be excluded from the public record must be redacted under the court's and Supreme Court's rules.

All social security numbers and other information that must be excluded from public record shall be redacted in accordance with the rules of this court and the Rules of Superintendence.

CRITICAL

Personal and private information included in entries and orders must be redacted.

5. Judgment Entries: Personal and private information required to be included in entries and orders shall be redacted in the manner set forth above.

CRITICAL

Within 24 hours after entry of a sealing order, the clerk must provide notice and a certified copy to connected agencies and entities, transmit the order to BCI, and docket the transmission completion date.

(B) Notification to Agencies and Entities 1. The clerk shall provide notice and a certified copy of the court order to seal within 24 hours to the following agencies and entities connected to the case: prosecutors, probation departments, local law enforcement agencies, and the original court in cases that have been bound over or transferred. 2. The clerk shall transmit to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) and docket the completion date of transmission.

CRITICAL

Filers must not include personal or private information in public court documents; when necessary and relevant, it must be submitted separately on the secure Personal Identifier Form.

The filer shall NOT include personal and private information in any document filed with the Court. If such inclusion is necessary and relevant to the case, the personal identifier information shall be submitted as a separate document by using the Personal Identifier Form. (See Form M-2). The Personal Identifier Form shall be a secure document not subject to public record.

CRITICAL

The filer is responsible and liable for redacting personal and private information, and the Clerk does not review documents for compliance.

4. Responsible Party: The filer is responsible and liable for redacting personal and private information. The Clerk shall not review each document for compliance with this Rule and Superintendence Rule 45.

CRITICAL

The clerk may release sealed records for inspection only under a court order or within the parameters of RC 2953.34.

4. The clerk shall only release sealed records for inspection pursuant to court order or within the parameters of RC 2953.34.

CRITICAL

The clerk must destroy, delete, or erase an expunged record, as appropriate to its form, so that it is permanently irretrievable.

2. The clerk shall destroy, delete, and erase a record as appropriate for the record’s physical or electronic form or characteristic so that the record is permanently irretrievable. ORC 2953.31(B).

CRITICAL

The clerk must seal records in physical paper journals and court indexes when applicable.

2. The clerk shall seal the record from physical paper journals and indexes of the court, if applicable.

CRITICAL

An in-person document may be filed under seal only if a motion with a proposed entry accompanies the documents in a sealed envelope, with the motion and proposed entry on top.

The Clerk shall not accept any document to be filed under seal unless a motion to make the filing has been filed with a Proposed Entry. The filing party shall have the documents requested to be filed under Seal in a sealed envelope with the motion and proposed entry on top.

WARNING

The Clerk prints documents requested to be sealed, secures them in an envelope marked with the case number and motion date, and forwards the envelope to the Court for approval.

The requested documents referenced in the Motion to be “Sealed” will be printed by the Clerk, secured in a sealed envelope with the case number, the date of the Motion filed, and forwarded to the Court for approval.

WARNING

If a motion to seal is denied, the Clerk shreds the sealed envelope.

If the Motion is denied by the Court, the Clerk will shred the sealed envelope in the locked shred bin in the office.

WARNING

If sealing is approved, the Clerk file-stamps and seals the envelope, adds the approval date, and marks it “FILED UNDER SEAL.”

If the Motion is approved by the Court, the Clerk shall file stamp the face of the envelope along with the Clerks Seal. The date of the order permitting the filing to be sealed will be added to the sealed envelope and a notation stating “FILED UNDER SEAL”.