Ohio Supreme Court Weighs Case on Public Records and Attorney General Yost s Ties to RAGA

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Written By Blue & Gold NLR Team

 

 

The Ohio Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case involving the state’s Attorney General Dave Yost and the Center for Media and Democracy, a national watchdog group.

At the heart of the case is whether Yost should be required to release records related to his connections with the Republican Attorneys General Association RAGA and its fundraising arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund.

The Center for Media and Democracy has been seeking these documents since 2020, particularly concerning RAGA’s letter opposing clean air regulations and its involvement with the events leading up to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection.

The Ohio Solicitor General, T. Elliot Gaiser, warned that if the court rules against Yost, it could set a dangerous precedent, potentially opening the door to widespread abuse of public records laws. Yost himself argues that releasing the requested records could infringe on privacy and could pull in irrelevant information from his staff’s personal communications, potentially involving issues unrelated to RAGA’s activities.

Justice Sharon Kennedy questioned whether the lower court’s orders went too far, while Justice Jennifer Brunner expressed concern about the slippery slope of allowing officials to hide unethical or illegal behavior through private communications.

The center’s attorney, Jeffrey Vardaro, argued that the order merely allows a magistrate to review documents privately, rather than making them publicly available immediately, and warned that allowing officials to unilaterally decide what records are public could undermine transparency.

The decision could have broad implications for how public records laws are interpreted and applied in Ohio.

 

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