IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO CRIMINAL DIVISION

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1 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO CRIMINAL DIVISION STATE OF OHIO Case number Plaintiff JUDGE vs. APPLICATION FOR SEALING THE ARREST RECORD PURSUANT TO R.C (Name) Applicant HEARING REQUESTED PURSUANT TO R.C (B)(1) Now comes the Applicant,, pro se, and (Name) respectfully moves this Honorable Court, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code , to order fingerprint records, and any records in the Court of Common Pleas be erased. The reasons in further support of this motion are attached hereto. Respectfully submitted, Name Address Phone

2 BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MOTION I. Facts Applicant was arrested by (Police Department That Arrested You If Never Arrested, Write Not Applicable ) on. The Cuyahoga County Grand Jury voted (Date of Arrest) to indict applicant on with (Date of Indictment) Charge R.C. Section Applicant was arraigned on and the case was (Date of Arraignment) assigned to the docket of this Honorable Court. In the instant case (What Happened In Your Case Not Guilty Verdict, Dismissed, Nolled) on.

3 II. Law and Analysis An exonerated arrestee does not have an expungeable record per se. However, the information which was collected in the police archives can prove to be as damaging to the arrestee as a record of actual conviction or incarceration. The Ohio Supreme Court has situated the basis for the expungement of the record of an exonerated arrestee in the constitutional right to privacy. Pepper Pike v. Doe, 66 Ohio St.2d 374, 377, 421 N.E.2d 374 (1981). R.C establishes the procedure by which an arrestee may seal the information compiled as a consequence of his/her arrest and/or any subsequent criminal charges where no criminal conviction results. R.C (A)(1) provides Any person, who is found not guilty of an offense by a jury or a court or who is the defendant named in a dismissed complaint, indictment, or information, may apply to the court for an order to seal his official records in the case. Except as provided in section of the Revised Code the application may be filed at any time after the finding of not guilty or the dismissal of the complaint, indictment, or information is entered upon the minutes of the court or the journal, whichever entry comes first. (Emphasis added.) Because Applicant was not convicted of an offense, he/she is now eligible under R.C to apply for an order to seal his/her official records in the above captioned case. When considering an application for expungement of the record of an exonerated arrestee, a trial court is not permitted to summarily and categorically deny the application. Cleveland v. Hogan, 8th Dist. No , 2005-Ohio Rather, a trial court is required to make specific findings per R.C (B). Id. R.C (B)(2) provides

4 The trial court shall do each of the following (a) Determine whether the person was found not guilty in the case, or the complaint, indictment, or information in the case was dismissed * * *; (b) Determine whether criminal proceedings are pending against the person; (c) If the prosecutor has filed an objection in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, consider the reasons against granting the application specified by the prosecutor in the objection; (d) Weigh the interests of the person in having the official records pertaining to the case sealed against the legitimate needs, if any, of the government to maintain those records. R.C is to be liberally construed [and] the relief available is to be liberally granted, and it is an abuse of discretion not to do so. State v. Hilbert, 145 Ohio App.3d, 824, 827, 764 N.E.2d 1064 (8th Dist. 2001). Applicant does not have any criminal proceedings pending against him/her. Accordingly, Applicant is eligible to have the records in the above captioned case sealed. R.C (B)(1) provides that [u]pon the filing of an application pursuant to division (A) of this section, the court shall set a date for a hearing and shall notify the prosecutor in the case of the hearing on the application. (Emphasis added.) See also State v. Robinson, 8th Dist No , 2008-Ohio-5994 (error to fail to hold expungement hearing where applicant applied to expunge not guilty records). Pursuant to R.C (B)(1), Applicant respectfully requests a hearing to be set in this matter.

5 WHEREFORE, Applicant respectfully requests this Honorable Court to set a hearing date on the application to seal the record. Name, pro se CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE A copy of this Application to Seal Record of Arrest was served on the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor or a member of his staff, The Justice Center, 1200 Ontario Street, 9 th Floor, Cleveland, Ohio on this of,. (Day) (Month) (Year) Name, pro se