On December 22, 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court recently issued new rules for Ohio courts that will become effective in May 2009 regarding access to court records. Key to the changes to Rules 44-47 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence are protections for personal identifiers such as social security numbers and bank or credit card numbers. These changes mirror protections that many other courts have already instituted. Other changes allow documents to be placed under seal, allow clerks to grant access to files with limited access, and allow clerks to limit the number of documents they will mail per month. Click here to read the Ohio Supreme Court's Press Release about the changes, and click here to read an article from the Plain Dealer about dissenter's reactions to the upcoming changes.