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State ex rel. Law Office of Montgomery County Public Defender v. Rosencrans
Citation: 111 Ohio St. 3d 338Docket: No. 2006-0072
Court: Ohio Supreme Court; November 21, 2006; Ohio; State Supreme Court
An appeal was made regarding a judgment that denied a writ of mandamus aimed at compelling Mayor Rosencrans and the city of Moraine, Ohio, to hold mayor's court proceedings in an open forum, activate the sound-amplification system, and record the proceedings. The court affirmed the judgment, noting that the mayor's court is conducted in the municipal building's council chambers and is governed by relevant constitutional provisions and statutes. Data from 2004 indicated that over 800 individuals were jailed due to cases from this court, with many lacking legal representation. The mayor and city prosecutor sit on an elevated bench while defendants stand before them; public seating is approximately 22.5 feet away from the proceedings. Although the court is equipped with a sound system that operates during city council meetings, it is not activated during mayor's court, which prevents public access to the proceedings. Mayor Rosencrans cited concerns over the sensitivity of the charges against defendants and stated he was not obligated to use the sound system. Additionally, he had previously barred arraignments in open court due to public safety concerns. After receiving requests from the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office in late 2003 and early 2004 for open proceedings and sound amplification, Mayor Rosencrans changed his policy in March 2004 to allow incarcerated defendants to be heard in open court without subsequent public safety issues. The court of appeals denied the public defender's petition on December 14, 2005, deeming the request to compel open court moot and ruling that the mayor was not required to activate the sound system based on May. R. 11. The case is now before the higher court on the public defender’s appeal for mandamus relief. The public defender contends that the court of appeals erred by denying his writ of mandamus, arguing that he has a right to have all proceedings in the Moraine Mayor’s Court conducted publicly and to have sound-amplification and recording systems utilized. To succeed, he must demonstrate a clear legal right, a duty on the part of the mayor and city to comply, and the absence of an adequate legal remedy. The mayor and city acknowledged their duty to hold court proceedings openly. However, following the public defender's petition, the mayor ceased the practice of arraigning prisoners in a nonpublic setting. Consequently, the court of appeals deemed the matter moot, as mandamus cannot compel actions already completed. The public defender argues that the situation is capable of repetition yet evades review, which applies only if two conditions are met: the challenged action is too brief for full litigation, and there is a reasonable expectation of recurrence. The public defender failed to satisfy these criteria, as the mayor's general practice was not transient enough to avoid litigation, and there is no expectation that prisoners will again be arraigned in secret, given the mayor's acknowledgment of the duty to hold open proceedings. The cited cases that support his argument are distinguishable, as they involve temporary closure orders that typically expire before appellate review, unlike the ongoing policy challenge presented here. In State ex rel. Dispatch Printing Co. v. Louden (2001), the public defender's claim that his request was not moot was based on a judge's 20-year history of closing juvenile detention hearings. The court found that, unlike the judge, Mayor Rosencrans had no such history and acknowledged his duty to keep arraignments open. Consequently, the court of appeals did not err in denying the public defender's mootness claim. Additionally, the public defender sought a writ of mandamus to compel Mayor Rosencrans and the city of Moraine to activate the sound-amplification system for public access to court proceedings, referencing May. R. 11(B)(2), which mandates that all participants must be heard. The court interpreted "participants" more restrictively than "public," indicating it refers to those actively involved in the trial, such as parties, counsel, and witnesses. The mayor's assertion that interpreting "participants" to include the general public would grant them an unreasonable right to speak in court was upheld. Furthermore, the public defender did not raise any constitutional arguments regarding the sound system in his previous submissions, leading the court of appeals to resolve the issue without addressing these arguments. Claims based on R.C. 121.22 and municipal charter were also waived since they were not presented to the court of appeals. The lack of a public-address system in mayor’s court proceedings does not constitute a violation of constitutional rights, as established in United States v. Griffin, where a defective system was found insufficient to deny a defendant's right to a public trial. The court noted that the necessary participants could hear the testimonies, countering claims that the system's defect hindered the proceedings. The appellate court concluded that Mayor Rosencrans and the city of Moraine were not obligated to activate the sound-amplification system during these proceedings, as May. R. 11(B)(2) does not impose a legal duty to record the sessions, but rather suggests that an audio system should be provided at discretion. The public defender's argument for a writ of mandamus to compel recording the proceedings was denied, as the court found he failed to base his petition on other relevant rules and did not amend his initial complaint. Thus, the court affirmed the appellate court's decisions regarding the public defender’s claims. The judgment was affirmed with concurrence from several justices, while dissenting opinions were noted from others.