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WARREN -- A Mineral Ridge woman has filed a mandamus action with the Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals, asking the court to compel the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Office to immediately file her earlier legal action seeking public records from the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County.
Estella Rhinehart's Oct. 26 appeals court filing states that Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Randy Law was required under Ohio law to file the legal action Rhinehart submitted to the Clerk of Courts Office Oct. 22.
But Law's office instead "refused to file-stamp them, docket them or assign a case number, informing Rhinehart that the papers 'wouldn't be filed until indigency was approved'" by Ronald Rice, the administrative judge of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
According to the online Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute website, "A person is referred to as indigent when they are impoverished or unable to afford the basic necessities of life."
Rhinehart's appeals court filing quotes from the local rules of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court regarding a person's request for the filing fees to be waived for a person who is indigent. One rule states that the court's administrative judge is required to approve requests to be declared indigent "prior to acceptance of the initial pleading for filing."
But Rhinehart's filing states that the common pleas court local rule is in conflict with a provision of Ohio law that states that "Upon the filing of a civil action or proceeding (that involves a request for a determination of indigency) "the clerk of the court shall accept the action or proceeding for filing."
As of Oct. 26, Rhinehart's legal action had not yet shown up on the common pleas court's online docket, the appeals court filing states.
The appeals court filing states that Rhinehart not only wants the appeals court to order Law to file Rhinehart's Oct. 22 legal action but to rule that the common pleas court's local rule "is unenforceable insofar as it requires judicial approval of a poverty (filing) prior to acceptance of the initial" legal action for filing.
And the filing asks the appeals court to award Rhinehart "her costs" and to grant her "such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper."
The appeals court filing contains a copy of the Oct. 22 legal action Rhinehart submitted to the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts office Oct. 22 that names the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County as a potential party.
That filing states that on Aug. 29, 2026, a "foster dog" named Demetrius attacked Rhinehart's dog, Millie, and bit Rhinehart when Rhinehart intervened to "stop the attack."
Rhinehart stated that she reported the matter to the Animal Welfare League, whose humane officer requested information from Rhinehart, which Rhinehart provided. The investigation was closed with a notation that the case was "resolved" Sept. 10.
But Rhinehart requested more information in a public records request to the Animal Welfare League Sept. 29, and AWL later provided Rhinehart with a one-page "Case View Report," which Rhinehart indicated was inadequate.
She followed that up with an Oct. 16 request to an attorney for AWL for more information but was not satisfied with the response, resulting in Rhinehart's mandamus request in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. It asked that a judge order AWL to turn over the public records Rhinehart requested.
The appeals court mandamus action contained purported emails from Trumbull County Clerk of Court Randy Law regarding Rhinehart's argument that state law supersedes local rules of the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court when they are in conflict and that Law should file Rhinehart's mandamus action without waiting for a decision from Rice on whether Rhinehart was indigent.
Law was quoted in the filing as stating, "We do not see a conflict," adding that Rhinehart's mandamus application and complaint "were accepted and given to" Rice.
On Monday, 11th District Court of Appeals Judge John Ecklund filed an entry ordering Law to respond to Rhinehart's petition by Nov. 12. As of Thursday, Rhinehart's attempted legal action in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court is not appearing in online records as having been filed.