From the Ohio Supreme Court's decision Friday in State ex rel. Shubert v. Breaux:
In February 2024, Jeremiah Stoehr was indicted in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas on one count of rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of gross sexual imposition, and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. The record contains some ambiguity regarding how many alleged victims there were, but at least one alleged victim was under the age of ten. Stoehr was a high school student when the complaint in this action was filed, and the criminal case against him has received media attention. Judge [Alison] Breaux is presiding over Stoehr's pending criminal case….
On May 9, Stoehr filed a motion in the trial court to seal the docket and remove public access to case filings during the pendency of Stoehr's case. Stoehr's motion to seal states that after media began reporting on his case, Stoehr was assaulted and threatened, his parents were followed, and his address was published online. The motion was not supported by any affidavits. The same day the motion was filed, Judge Breaux issued an order granting it.
On May 16, Judge Breaux sua sponte issued an amended sealing order. The amended order states that before Stoehr filed his motion to seal, the trial court held a meeting in chambers with the prosecution and defense counsel. During the meeting, "it was brought to the attention of the Court" that Stoehr, his family, and his counsel had been threatened, intimidated, and confronted. The prosecution also expressed a concern about the minor victim being identified. The trial court "weigh[ed] the risk of injury to persons, public safety and fairness of the adjudicatory process against the presumption of allowing public access to the docket and [found], by clear and convincing evidence, that the restricting [of] access to information in this case is warranted to protect the parties and counsel."
The amended order directs the Summit County Clerk of Courts to remove any online public access to the docket or images in Stoehr's case and to remove any public access to the docket or images "regarding subpoenas, summons returns, search warrants, service returns, any court filing containing information protected under Marsy's Law, and any court filing containing private information of the Defendant or other records as provided by state, federal, or common law." …
"[Craig] Shubert, a former journalist and a member of the public interested in" the case sought review of the sealing order, and the Ohio Supreme Court agreed that the order had been improperly issued:
