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

Social Security, financial account, driver's license, tax, employer, employee, and other statutorily protected identifying information may not appear in public filings, although the last four digits of Social Security and financial account numbers may be listed.

The following information is deemed personal and private and may not be included in any document presented to the clerk of courts for filing nor contained in any document filed with the court which is available to the public: (1) Social Security Numbers; (a) The last 4 digits of a social security number may be listed, e.g., “XXX- XX-1234”; (2) Financial account number(s); Page 11 of 84 ===== PAGE 14 ===== (a) The last 4 digits of an account number may be listed, e.g., “xxx1234”; (3) Driver’s License Numbers; (4) State or federal tax identification numbers; (5) Employer and employee identification numbers; (6) Any other information deemed personal and private by any federal or state statute, Marsy’s Law, regulation, executive order, or court ruling.

The filing party and counsel must remove personal and private information from filings and attached exhibits and addenda, including judicial reports, tax liens, medical records, and other attached materials.

(B) 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, state tax liens that use social security numbers as case numbers, medical records, and personal information.

Counsel seeking to seal a document or case must file a motion and proposed entry with the assigned judge and include the specific case number and caption of the material to be sealed.

(A) Counsel requesting the sealing of a document or case shall file a motion and proposed entry with the judge assigned to the case. The motion shall contain the following: (1) The specific case number and caption of the document(s) or case that is the subject of the request to be sealed;

If the assigned judge grants the motion, the filing party shall provide the clerk with the documents and a copy of the entry permitting filing under seal, and the clerk shall then do all of the following.

(B) If the motion is granted by the assigned judge, the filing of the documents or case will be exempt from e-Filing. The party filing under seal shall provide the clerk of courts with the document(s) to be filed, along with a copy of the entry permitting the document(s) or case to be filed under seal, and the clerk shall then do all of the following:

A sealed document or case may be viewed only by the assigned judge and staff, an appellate judge reviewing the appeal, or a person who obtains access through a motion and proposed entry approved by the assigned trial judge.

(C) A sealed document(s) or case may only be viewed: (1) By the judge assigned to the case and his/her staff; (2) By an appellate judge who is reviewing the case on appeal; or (3) By filing a motion and proposed entry with the assigned trial judge. If the judge grants the motion, the signed entry must be filed in the clerk of court’s office. The clerk will then physically unseal the document(s) or case and make such available for viewing and restore the view of the document(s) or case file to the website.

If the same order permits temporary viewing and requires immediate resealing, the clerk must not restore website availability, and the person receiving temporary access may not disclose the sealed contents.

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

Social Security numbers and other information that must be excluded from the public record must be redacted under the Court's and Rules of Superintendence.

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.

Every motion to seal a record must be set for a hearing.

All motions for sealing of the record shall be set for hearing.

A pro se defendant may apply for an order sealing or expunging the criminal record under Ohio Revised Code sections 2953.33 or 2951.041.

Comes now the defendant, __________________________, pro se, and moves the Court, pursuant to section 2953.33 or 2951.041 of the Ohio Revised Code, for an order SEALING or EXPUNGING (select one) the record of the defendant’s case

A pro se defendant initiates the sealing or expungement process by moving the court for an order.

Comes now the defendant, __________________________, pro se, and moves the Court,

Personal information in earlier filings and records transmitted from another court is public, but an affected person may petition for its removal and redaction if the request is granted.

(D) 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.