State Ex Rel. Bardwell v. City of Cleveland

{¶ 1} We reverse the judgment of the court of appeals insofar as it found that appellants, the city of Cleveland and Chief Michael McGrath of the Cleveland Division of Police, violated their duty under the Public Records Act to organize and maintain public records received from pawnbrokers in a manner that allows them to be made available for inspection and copying. The court of appeals granted a writ of mandamus to compel appellants to disclose a complete list of pawnbrokers in the city and ordered appellants to pay $1,000 in statutory damages.1

*196{¶ 2} The court of appeals held that appellants…