This bears watching, perhaps scrutiny:
Rules adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday could restrict the public's access to court records, a leading open-government advocate says.
Cleveland lawyer David Marburger, of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government, said the rules shift the burden to the public to prove why it needs access to court records if someone involved in a case wants sealed.
Before Monday, people involved in court cases had to prove they would be harmed if records remained open in individual cases.
"This is a dangerous precedent," said Marburger, who has represented several newspapers, including The Plain Dealer. "This is a dramatic change. The future of these rules can only be negative."
The court adopted the amendments from the Commission on the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio. Six of the high court's justices voted for the changes, and Justice Paul Pfeifer dissented.
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