State ex rel. Hogan Lovells U.S., LLP v. Department of Rehabilitation & Correction

The Supreme Court granted in part and denied in part the writ of mandamus requested by Relators to compel the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (DRC) to release records related to DRC’s acquisition and supply of lethal-injection drugs, holding that Relators had a clear legal right to access certain sealed records with protected information redacted but that other information was exempt from public disclosure.At issue was sealed records identified in DRC’s Exhibit 7 log and Exhibit 8 log. The Supreme Court held (1) Relators had a clear legal right to access the sealed records in the Exhibit 7 log with only protected information redacted that could identify an entity requesting confidentiality under Ohio Rev. Code 2949.221; (2) because one letter in Exhibit 7 contained protected information that was inextricably intertwined with nonprotected information, it was exempt from disclosure; and (3) Relators failed to establish a clear legal right to compel DRC to produce the sealed records identified in the Exhibit 8 log, which were created or received by DRC after the date of Relators’ request. View "State ex rel. Hogan Lovells U.S., LLP v. Department of Rehabilitation & Correction" on Justia Law