Woman wants to flood court

An advocate wants to rally the troops to support a local woman's right to access court records by staging a mass effort to hit Ottawa County Municipal Court Judge Frederick "Fritz" Hany with a slew of public records requests."You don't have to be a supporter of Elsebeth Baumgartner to know Judge Hany is overstepping his authority," said Tracy Thom, a Groton Township resident who forced a criminal investigation of an elderly financial abuse case in Ottawa County last year that led to multiple-count felony criminal indictments.She butted heads with Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan at that time, Thom said, when she was shut down in her effort to secure public records. Hany's decision to bar access to court records further fueled her concern that county officials aren't properly following open government practices. Hany ordered Baumgartner in 2013 to have no contact with municipal court or court employees, effectively stripping her of her ability to access court records.Baumgartner, a freelance writer and an activist who was convicted and served a prison sentence on charges she attempted to intimidate public officials, contends Haney's order barring her from municipal court is unlawful."As a convicted felon I can't run for office. I need access to the Court to obtain documents as evidence to vacate what I believe to be my wrongful felony misdemeanor convictions as well as my disbarrment so that I can run for public office," Baumgartner said in recent comments responding to news coverage.Baumgartner has a law degree but her license to practice was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court during her criminal proceedings.Hany's 2013 order does further strip Baumgartner of her rights, according Dave Marburger, an attorney with Baker Hostetler in Cleveland and a First Amendment and public records expert."She served her sentence," Marburger told the Register. "I would think that she's presumed innocent of bad conduct just like the rest of us. Unless and until she behaves in such a way that would justify the order barring her from court, the order seems to exceed the bounds of the lawful exercise of judicial power – even inherent judicial power – and seems to violate her constitutional rights."Hany declined to provide any explanation for his order barring Baumgartner. He refused a reporter's request for an interview and did not reply to a written inquiry. He filed the order without a pending court case that involved Baumgartner, and cited the judicial code of ethics as the reason he cannot comment about his order.Thom said she knows little about Baumgartner or her past battles with public officials, but became concerned when she read about Hany's order in the Register."Having access to records keeps government functional," Thom said. "These aren't the judge's records; they're the people's records and people should have access to them."Thom said she hopes to get as many as 200 volunteers to go to municipal court March 18 and request records on Baumgartner's behalf. "If we can get enough people to help we'll send a clear message to the judge and other officials that records belong to the public and aren't something that should be subject to a judge's arbitrary order," Thom said.She's reaching out to educators and civic groups "who might want to use this opportunity to educate their students or members on the Sunshine laws," she said, hoping to get support for what she called "Public Records Day" at Ottawa County Municipal Court.The date — March 18 — falls during Sunshine Week, Thom said, which is a national observance by media and advocacy groups that promotes access to public records."These guys can't make their own rules and laws. They make them up as they go," Thom said. "Hopefully we'll have the support to help put a stop to that." The effort to deny public access should be fully explained, she said. "Judge Hany should say why he's taken this huge step to block someone's access. If he has a right to do it then he should take the time to explain why he did it. Constitutional rights are not something a judge, any judge or anyone else, can give or take willy-nilly."Marburger, author of "Access With Attitude: An Advocate's Guide to Public Records in Ohio," said judges have broad authority but everyone — including Elsebeth Baumgartner — has a right to equal access."Neither the judiciary, the Legislature, nor the executive can single out an individual citizen — preventing that citizen from entering onto public property at the same time, in the same manner, and in the same particular places that all other members of the public can go — at least so long as Ms. Baumgartner has not been repeatedly disruptive since serving her time in prison."Marburger said — based on the information made available to him — that Hany's order appears to be unlawful."But, in almost every circumstance, citizens are bound to obey unlawful court orders until the order is vacated by the issuing judge or by a superior court (such as a court of appeals or the Ohio Supreme Court)," Marburger said."It is up to Baumgartner to seek to vacate the order and, in the meantime, obey it."Read Elsebeth Baumgartner timelineHanyThom