Legal-Ease: Learning about public records

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

Public records are often discussed in our society; public records are the records kept by any public office. The general public can review the records kept by the state, county, city, village, townships as well as school districts.

There are certain records that aren’t considered public records, though. Medical records are generally not considered to be public records. Businesses that apply for tax abatements based upon their technology are offered privacy for their technology’s character and description. Home addresses for public employees who may face retribution as part of their jobs are generally afforded the ability to keep their addresses secret. Other instances exist where records are not considered to be public.

Public records are a much-discussed topic in American society. A public record generally includes all records kept by any public office. Public offices whose records are subject to review by the general public include state, county, city, village, townships and school districts.

Certain documents and information that is kept by public offices as records are not public records under the law. Illustratively, medical records of almost any sort are not considered public records.

Read more about public records in Lee’s article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Learning about public records

Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Learning about public records,” by Lee R. Schroeder, September 10, 2016

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