State ex rel. Ellis v. Cleveland Police Forensic Laboratory
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant's motion for an award of statutory damages under the Ohio Public Records Act, Ohio Rev. Code 149.43, holding that Appellant was entitled to statutory damages.
Appellant, an inmate, sent a request to the Cleveland Police Forensic Laboratory (CPFL) for three categories of public records. When CPFL did not respond to his request, Appellant filed a mandamus action and sought statutory damages under section 149.43(C)(2). The court of appeals granted a writ of mandamus compelling the production of some of the requested records and denied Appellant's request for statutory damages. The Supreme Court reversed and granted Appellant's application for an award of statutory damages, holding that, given the length of time during which the CPFL failed to respond, Appellant was entitled to the maximum amount permitted under the statute.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.