CINCINNATI, Ohio – Ohio lawmakers are reconsidering a controversial budget proposal that could have severely limited public access to police records, The Plain Dealer reported.
The Ohio Senate has introduced compromise language to address concerns raised over the Ohio House of Representatives’ earlier proposal, which included broad exemptions to the state’s public records laws. A joint House-Senate committee will now review the compromise and determine whether to include it in the final budget bill, according to University of Cincinnati News.
WKYC reported that the House’s 5,000-page version of the state budget would have excluded access to “any information that the police gather before a criminal case gets going.” Under the proposal, the public could be barred from accessing these records until after a suspect had completed the entire appeals process—potentially years or even decades later.
Mark Godsey, a law professor at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP), criticized the proposal in an interview with The Plain Dealer, warning that the changes could prevent public accountability and undermine justice efforts.
OIP, based at UC’s College of Law, has spent the past two decades working to exonerate Ohioans wrongfully convicted of crimes. According to UC News, the group has helped free or exonerate 43 individuals since its founding.
Supporters of the House’s proposal argue that limiting access to police records could help protect the integrity of ongoing investigations. Lou Tobin, executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said the exemptions could reduce witness intimidation and improve cooperation with law enforcement. However, The Plain Dealer noted that Tobin was unable to cite specific instances where public access to police files had led to such problems.
Tobin also defended blocking access to prosecutors’ notes, arguing that such restrictions would encourage attorneys to document their thoughts more freely.
Godsey expressed strong opposition, stating the exemptions could be so broad that police departments would be able to indefinitely withhold most public records. He warned that by extending the exemption to prosecutors’ notes, the provision could be exploited by police agencies to avoid releasing key documents.
“These changes would cripple the ability of innocence organizations like ours to access critical evidence,” Godsey said, explaining that OIP often relies on supplemental witness statements and police records to uncover wrongful convictions.
