Judge seeks Ohio Supreme Court dismissal of sealed records complaint in Hudson case
A Summit County judge is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to dismiss a challenge to her order sealing the case records for an 18-year-old Hudson High School senior accused of raping and kidnapping a 9-year-old.
Craig Shubert had filed a petition May 15 with the Ohio Supreme Court to look into Common Pleas Judge Alison Breaux's decision to seal the case against Jeremiah Stoehr, who is facing five felony charges, including rape and kidnapping. Shubert asserted that Breaux "offered no legal authority and did not present any evidentiary materials" in deciding to seal the docket."
In the motion to dismiss, Breaux said stated she disagreed that her court didn't follow the regulations.
"Mr. Shubert provided no evidence that Judge Breaux didn’t comply," the motion to dismiss stated. "Additionally, Mr. Shubert seems to confuse remote access with public access. There is no requirement and no dutyto provide remote access. On this fact alone, the petition should be dismissed."
Breaux also said Shubert never asked the Common Pleas Court for a copy of the records, instead going straight to the Ohio Supreme Court.
"Because (Shubert) never filed a motion with the court, and no request from (Shubert) to unseal the records was presented to the court, Judge Breaux never considered or denied (Shubert's) access to the sealed documents," the motion stated. "Had (Shubert) pursued (his) adequate remedies… (he) might have obtained the requested records from the court, or (his) request might have been denied in full or in part."
The motion states that the Ohio Supreme Court should instruct Shubert to file his appeal with the Summit County Common Pleas Court.
"(Shubert) should not be permitted to leapfrog the rules of superintendence to avoid input from the parties concerning access to documents in their case, particularly in a situation in which both parties to the action have privacy interests at stake and were in agreement that the materials should be sealed for that reason," stated the motion to dismiss.
Stoehr has been charged with one count of rape, two counts of kidnapping, a charge of gross sexual imposition and a count of disseminating content harmful to a juvenile.
The docket for Stoehr's case was publicly accessible on the Summit County Clerk of Courts website until May 9, when Breaux granted the defense's request to seal the documents, said James Pollack, a spokesman for the Summit County Prosecutor's Office. In an earlier interview, Pollack said the prosecutor's office, by law, could not comment publicly on open cases or investigations due to the state's rules regarding professional conduct.
On Monday, Shubert filed a request to submit a revised complaint — along with the proposed wording of that complaint — for the Ohio Supreme Court's consideration.
Stoehr's attorney, Maxwell Hiltner, filed the motion to seal the case, saying that Stoehr had been assaulted and had been threatened with harm.
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Judge Alison Breaux files motion defending her order to seal records
