Background
Ohio statutes permit trial courts to seal or expunge records of qualifying convictions and nonconvictions. The statutes require notice to public offices or agencies that may possess records of the case and prescribe how sealed and expunged records must be handled.
The First District issued this administrative opinion to determine what an appellate court must do when it learns that a trial court has sealed or expunged a criminal case that was previously appealed.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that appellate courts must seal or expunge records related to the underlying criminal conviction or nonconviction once the trial court has entered a sealing or expungement order under R.C. 2953.32 or R.C. 2953.33 and the time to appeal that order has passed. The court reasoned that appellate courts are public offices or agencies under the statutes’ broad language and that appellate materials are official records relating to the criminal case.
The First District ordered its clerk to seal or expunge the appellate docket 40 days after receiving notice of the trial court’s order. When the appellate case produced an opinion, the court will issue and publish a version that replaces the defendant’s name with initials, replacing the unredacted version on the court’s website and providing the redacted version to the Ohio Supreme Court Reporter.
Key Takeaways
- A final trial-court sealing or expungement order reaches related appellate records.
- The First District will act 40 days after receiving notice of the trial court’s order.
- Redacted opinions may preserve precedent while protecting the defendant’s identity.
Why It Matters
The order establishes a First District procedure for carrying trial-court sealing and expungement relief through the appellate docket. It prevents publicly accessible appellate records from disclosing information that the governing statutes require to be sealed or permanently erased.