COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT
                       COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
                           NO. 75054
STATE OF OHIO, EX REL.        :    PETITION FOR WRIT OF
ROBERT L. PINKAVA             :    MANDAMUS
                              :
               Relator        :    MOTION NO. 99436
                              :
          vs.                 :    JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
                              :
SUSAN MEYERS, MEDICAL         :
 RECORDS MANAGER              :
EUCLID MERIDIAN HOSPITAL      :
                              :
               Respondent     :
                              :
DATE OF JOURNALIZATION        :    OCTOBER 22, 1998
JUDGMENT                      :    WRIT DISMISSED SUA SPONTE
APPEARANCES:
For Relator                   :    ROBERT L. PINKAVA, Pro Se
                                   No. 155-820
                                   P. O. Box 511
                                   Columbus, Ohio 43216
For Respondent                :    STEPHANIE TUBBS-JONES
                                   Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
                                   Justice Center, Courts Tower
                                   1200 Ontario Street
                                   Cleveland, Ohio 44113
PATRICIA A. BLACKMON, A.J.:
     Relator requests that this court
     issue a writ of mandamus compelling Susan Meyers, Medical
     Records Manager of  the Euclid Meridian [sic]  Hospital
                               -2-
     ***, to produce  copies of the  medical records of  the
     examinations preformed [sic] on [five named individuals].
     The relator seeks only those records that have a direct
     bearing on [State v. Pinkava, Cuyahoga County Court  of
     Common Pleas Case No. CR-44237], which with [sic] these
     records the relator can give support to his innocence in
     the charges that he was convicted of ***.
Complaint, Preamble.   Relator avers that he has requested  these
records  pursuant to R.C.  149.43.  Relator  contends that   this
information should have been supplied under Criminal Rule 16 (B) 1
***.   Complaint, at 1.
     R.C. 149.43 excludes  medical records  from the definition of
 public record.   R.C. 149.43(A)(1)(a).
      Medical record   means any document or combination  of
     documents,  except births,  deaths,  and  the  fact  of
     admission to or discharge from a hospital, that pertains
     to the medical history, diagnosis, prognosis, or medical
     condition  of  a patient  and  that  is  generated  and
     maintained in the process of medical treatment.
R.C. 149.43(A)(3). Although records in the custody of the  Medical
Records Manager   of  a hospital would  appear to  be within  the
definition of  medical records,  relator insists that he
     is not asking this court to give him access to any exempt
     medical reports, he is only asking for those that are in
     direct relationship to examinations preformed [sic] as a
     part of  a criminal  investigation.   However when  the
     relator contacted the prosecuting attorneys office  for
     copies of said reports the reply was that they (reports)
     were lost.
Complaint, at 2.  This court dismissed relator's action to compel
the county prosecutor to provide him with copies of the   medical
examination reports  of the same five individuals.  State ex rel.
Pinkava v. Cuyahoga Cty. Prosecutor (Mar. 13, 1996), Cuyahoga App.
No. 69466,  unreported, at 2.   Relator has not demonstrated  any
basis  for imputing  to respondent  responsibility for  relator's
                               -3-
failure to secure the records from the prosecutor.
     Additionally, R.C. 149.43 applies to records kept by a  public
office.   R.C. 149.43(A)(1).  State ex rel. Hairston v.  Pollutro
(July 2, 1998), Cuyahoga App. No. 74685, unreported.  Relator does
not aver that the hospital is a  public office.   Likewise, even if
respondent were records  custodian for a public office, a  public
office does not have a duty to mail copies of records.  Hairston,
supra.  Relator--who is in prison--has not identified a  designee
who would undertake  inspection and copying of any records  which
would be made available. Relief in mandamus would not, therefore,
be appropriate.   Also, the complaint is unclear whether  relator
requested these  records from  respondent or  from someone  else.
Absent a prior request for public records and refusal, mandamus is
not available to compel the release of public records.  Hairston,
supra.
     Furthermore, relator  failed  to comply  with Loc.  App.  R.
8(B)(1) which requires  that complaints in  original actions   be
supported by an affidavit from the plaintiff or relator specifying
the details of the claim.    In addition, the complaint does  not
include either a caption appropriate for an original action or the
addresses of the parties.  Hairston, supra; State ex rel. Delgado
v. Court of Common Pleas (Feb. 5, 1998), Cuyahoga App. No. 73341,
unreported, at 5, 9.
     Accordingly, relator's complaint in mandamus is dismissed sua
sponte.  Relator to pay costs.
     Writ dismissed.
                               -4-
JAMES M. PORTER, J., CONCURS.
.