State ex rel. Chatfield v. Flautt

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[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State ex rel. Chatfield v. Flautt, Slip Opinion No. 2012-Ohio-1294.] NOTICE This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published. SLIP OPINION NO. 2012-OHIO-1294 THE STATE EX REL. CHATFIELD, APPELLANT, v. FLAUTT, PROS. ATTY., APPELLEE. [Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State ex rel. Chatfield v. Flautt, Slip Opinion No. 2012-Ohio-1294.] Public records Court of appeals judgment denying writ of mandamus affirmed. (No. 2011-1687 Submitted March 21, 2012 Decided March 28, 2012.) APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Perry County, No. 11-CA-6, 2011-Ohio-4659. __________________ Per Curiam. {ΒΆ 1} We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals denying the request of appellant, inmate James L. Chatfield, for a writ of mandamus ordering appellee, Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph A. Flautt, to turn over certain records to him. R.C. 149.43(B)(8) required a finding by Chatfield s sentencing judge or the judge s successor that the requested information was necessary to support what appeared to be a justiciable claim. State ex rel. Barb v. Cuyahoga SUPREME COURT OF OHIO Cty. Jury Commr., 124 Ohio St.3d 238, 2010-Ohio-120, 921 N.E.2d 236. Chatfield obtained the requisite judicial finding from the Perry County Court of Common Pleas, but that court specified that the Columbus Police Department, not the Perry County prosecuting attorney, would provide the records. Because Chatfield s sentencing judge did not determine that the Perry County prosecuting attorney was the person responsible for the requested public records, Chatfield was not entitled to the requested extraordinary relief. Judgment affirmed. O CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, LUNDBERG STRATTON, O DONNELL, LANZINGER, CUPP, and MCGEE BROWN, JJ., concur. __________________ James L. Chatfield, pro se. Joseph A. Flautt, Perry County Prosecuting Attorney, pro se. ____________________ 2

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