COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that criminal cases can be sealed immediately on their dismissal even if charges could be refiled later.
The court said Wednesday that state law only requires judges to determine if a timeline for refiling charges has expired.
The unanimous decision said Ohio law doesn’t prevent judges from sealing records if the timeline hasn’t expired. The ruling settled disagreements between two lower courts.
Wednesday’s decision upheld the 2015 request of a man in Fairfield County to seal records in his case after charges including arson, aggravated menacing and domestic violence were dropped.
