Mark Reed, Court of Claims clerk said the program would provide the public with a better understanding of the process and what happens after someone sues the state. The Court of Claims decides all civil actions filed against the state of Ohio and its agencies.
Reed said, “There’s an idea out in the public that you can’t sue the state, that you can’t fight city hall. The Court of Claims exists to say, ‘yes, you can,’ and you can bring those cases to one court in the state of Ohio, so we’re unique like that.”
Reed emphasized the role of the Court of Claims, “You can only sue the state here, and that to me is what makes the Court of Claims so very interesting.”
While all cases may not be made available for live streaming, those cases that are of greater public interest or of educational value would be streamed live.
The first case to be broadcast live would be Darrel Houston v. State of Ohio. Houston is suing for monetary compensation for wrongful imprisonment. He is seeking both monetary compensation and lost wages for the 16 years he spent wrongfully behind the bars.
However, the state is arguing that since Houston was unemployed at the time when he went to prison, he can’t claim any directly lost wages.
But such a presumption assumes that Houston would have stayed unemployed for all 16 years of wrongful imprisonment, even if he hadn’t been imprisoned. The state is also arguing that Houston would have served up to eight years in a separate conviction.