State v. Vanzandt
Annotate this CaseAppellant was acquitted on four drug-trafficking charges and successfully moved to seal the records in that case. Three days after the trial court entered judgment sealing Appellant’s record, the state charged Appellant with retaliating against the state’s informant in the drug-trafficking case. The state then moved to unseal the record of Appellant’s drug-trafficking case so it could be used as evidence in the retaliation case. The trial court granted the motion. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that a court has discretion to unseal records of criminal proceedings for purposes other than those provided in Ohio Rev. Code 2953.53(D). The Supreme Court reversed, holding that a court does not have the authority to unseal official records for a purpose different from those explicitly authorized under section 2953.53.
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