Why is Dave Yost hiding evidence already played in open court?
Ohio Attorney General declared public records private — citing a controversial new state law — to block access after disclosure
NORWALK — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is asserting a bold and troubling new power: the ability to present evidence in a public trial and then immediately classify it as a state secret to prevent public review.
That is exactly what Attorney General Dave Yost’s office has done with records, recordings, and videos presented in open court Monday morning during the sentencing of Fred Reer Jr. for the 2017 killing of Amanda Dean. By Monday afternoon, Yost’s office had declared those same records confidential, refusing to release them to the press
In a denial sent to StayTunedSandusky.com, a records specialist from Yost’s office claimed that House Bill 96—a recent amendment to the state’s Public Records Act—allows the state to maintain the confidentiality of “investigatory work product” until a defendant has exhausted all final appeals.
