# State ex rel. Harris v. Rhodes

> Ohio Supreme Court · April 12, 1978 · 54 Ohio St. 2d 41

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6756253

## Case

- **Full name:** The State, ex rel. Harris v. Rhodes, Governor
- **Court:** Ohio Supreme Court
- **Decided:** April 12, 1978
- **Citations:** 54 Ohio St. 2d 41; 8 Ohio Op. 3d 36; 374 N.E.2d 641; 1978 Ohio LEXIS 530
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion of the court
- **Judges:** Brown, Brows, Celebrezze, Herbert, Locher, Neill, Sweeney
- **Cited by:** 186 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6756253

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding that this language exempts records from disclosure under Ohio’s Public Records Act

## Opinion text

Per Curiam.
In order to he entitled to a writ of man-damns, relator must show (1) that he has a clear legal right to the relief prayed for, (2) that respondents are under a clear legal duty to perform the acts, and (3) that relator has no plain and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law. State, ex rel. National City Bank, v. Bd. of Education (1977), 52 Ohio St. 2d 81 .
Relator asserts that the requested records are “public records” which, pursuant to R. C. 149.43, “shall be open at all reasonable times for inspection.”
However, the requested records are not public records under R. C. 149.43, which states, in part:
“‘[P]ublic record’ means any record required to be kept by any governmental unit * * * except records pertaining to physical or psychiatric examinations, * * * probation and parole proceedings, and records the release of which is prohibited by state * * * law.” (Emphasis added.)
Records and files of prisoners are compiled pursuant to R. C. 5145.04, 5145.20 and 5145.22. These records are maintained under R. C. 5120.21, which states, in part:
“The department of rehabilitation and correction shall keep in its office, accessible only to its employees, * * * a record showing the name, residence, sex, age, nativity, occupation, condition, and date of entrance or commitment of every inmate in the several institutions governed by it * * *.” (Emphasis added.)
Relator has shown no clear legal right to the relief prayed for. Therefore, the writ of mandamus is denied.
Writ.denied.
O’Neill, C. J., Herbert, Celebrezze, W. Brows,’ P. Brown, Sweeney and Locher, JJ., concur.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6756253. Public record. Not legal advice.