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

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 10, 2026CRITICAL

Victim’s Rights Forms filed with the Clerk must be kept in the nonpublic confidential folder, may be provided to the Prosecutor’s Office upon request, and may not be provided to others unless the assigned Judge orders it.

Victim’s Rights Forms filed with the Clerk shall be placed in the “confidential” folder within the case file that is not for public viewing. Victim’s Rights Forms shall be made available to the Prosecutor’s Office upon their request. Victim’s Rights Forms shall not be made available to anyone else, including the Defendant or defense counsel, unless ordered by the Judge assigned to the case.

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Public records may not include Social Security numbers, full financial account numbers, or other information deemed personal and private by specified legal authorities; the last four account-number digits may be listed.

(A) The following information is deemed personal and private and may not be included in a public record: (1) social security number; (2) full financial account number (the last 4 digits of an account number may be listed, e.g., “XXXX- XX-1234”); (3) any other information deemed personal and private by any other federal or state statute, regulation, executive order, or court ruling.

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The filing party and counsel must remove personal and private information from filed documents, including attached exhibits and addenda.

It is the responsibility of the filing party and counsel to remove personal and private information from a document filed with the Clerk of Court’s office. The responsibility of the filing party and counsel to remove personal and private information extends to, and includes, exhibits and addenda attached to filings, such as preliminary and final judicial reports, which itemize state tax liens that use social security numbers as case number; medical records; and personal information, such as may be found under R.C. 2907, “Sex Offenses.”

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Counsel seeking to seal documents or a case file must file a motion, submit a proposed entry, and provide the trial Judge a courtesy copy of the motion.

Counsel requesting the sealing of a document or documents or case file shall file a motion and shall submit a proposed entry and provide a courtesy copy of the motion to the trial Judge.

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If the motion to seal is granted, the documents are exempt from e-Filing, and the filing party must provide the documents and a copy of the authorizing entry to the Clerk of Courts.

If the motion is granted by the trial Judge, the filing of the documents will be exempt from e-Filing. The party filing under seal shall provide the Clerk of Courts the document(s) to be filed, along with a copy of the entry permitting the document(s) to be filed under seal and the Clerk shall then do all of the following: (1) seal the document(s) or case file in an

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The Clerk must secure sealed documents or case files, attach the sealing entry, return them to the file or shelf, remove them from website view, and prohibit viewing without a further court order.

envelope(s), with tape, covered by an embossed seal; (2) attach a copy of the entry sealing the document(s) or case file to the outside of the envelope; (3) return the sealed document(s) to the case file, or the case file to the appropriate shelf; (4) cause the document(s) or case file to be removed from view on the Clerk of Courts website; (5) and, shall not permit any viewing of the document(s) or case file without further order of the Court.

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A sealed document or case file may be viewed only by the sealing trial judge, an appellate judge reviewing the case, or a party obtaining permission by motion and proposed entry; if granted, the signed entry is filed with the Clerk, who makes the material viewable and restores its website view.

(C) A sealed document or documents or case file may only be viewed: (1) by the trial Judge who ordered the sealing of the document or documents or case file; (2) by an Appellate Judge who is reviewing the case on appeal; or, (3) by filing a motion and proposed entry with the Judge who sealed the document or documents or case file. If the Judge grants the motion, the signed entry must be filed in the Clerk of Court’s office. The Clerk will then break the seal and make the document or documents or case file available for viewing and restore the view of the document or documents or case file to the website.

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When an entry authorizes temporary viewing and requires resealing immediately afterward, the Clerk must follow the resealing procedure without restoring website access, and the person given access may not disclose the contents.

(D) When a motion and entry are filed to allow a party to view a sealed document or documents or case file, and the same entry orders the Clerk of Courts to reseal the document or documents or case file immediately after viewing, the Clerk shall follow the same procedure as (C)(3) above, except that the Clerk shall not make the document(s) or case file available for view on the website. The person granted temporary access to the document(s) or case filed shall not divulge the contents to others.

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Pleadings and documents filed with the Court that include a victim’s name and address must include a redacted copy for the case file, while the unredacted copy is placed in a nonpublic confidential folder.

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.

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 10, 2026WARNING

Personal information in pre-rule documents or records and transcripts from another court is considered public, but an affected person may petition for its removal and the information will be redacted if the petition is granted.

Any personal and private information contained in documents filed prior to the implementation of this Rule is considered public. Any personal and private information in records or transcripts transmitted to this Court from another court is considered public. A party or an attorney in a case, or any other person whose personal and private information is contained in the public record of this Court may petition the Court for the removal of personal and private information and, if the request is granted, the personal and private information will be redacted.