Taft told to turn over records

The governor will submit the papers by the Friday deadline, his spokesman said.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Supreme Court ordered Gov. Bob Taft on Tuesday to surrender documents to the court so it can review whether they are exempt from public disclosure under qualified executive privilege.
In a 7-0 ruling, the high court didn't rule on claims by state Sen. Marc Dann, a Youngstown-area Democrat who's seeking documents from the Taft administration, that Dann has a need for the papers.
But the high court said it needs to study the contested documents.
"[W]e conclude that it would be inappropriate at this stage to find that Dann has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating particularized need ...," Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer wrote for the high court.
The high court's review "will enable the Court to verify the identity and contents of the disputed records, which will further enable us to determine whether Dann has met his burden of demonstrating particularized need," Moyer, a Republican, wrote.
GOP Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O'Connor, Terrence O'Donnell and Judith Ann Lanzinger joined Moyer's opinion. Democratic Justice Alice Robie Resnick and Republican Justice Paul E. Pfeifer concurred in judgment only.
Dann, who's seeking documents he believes have information connected to controversial investments by the state's Bureau of Workers' Compensation, said he hopes the high court will ultimately determine the documents in question must be released publicly.
"These documents -- they're public documents, created by public employees," said Dann, the Democratic nominee for state attorney general. "Transparency is the way to retain accountability in government."
Sued for access to records
Dann sued the Republican governor in an attempt to gain access to the records.
The high court held in April that Taft has a limited executive privilege to keep from the public certain records that assist him and future governors in making decisions.
Taft turned over volumes of documents to Dann last year, but has asserted limited executive privilege relative to others, Taft spokesman Mark Rickel said.
"The governor believes executive privilege exists," Rickel said.
Rickel said the governor will submit the documents in question to the high court by the Friday 4 p.m. deadline set by the high court.
Controversies connected to a $50 million investment by the BWC, the state's insurance fund for injured workers, are reverberating through state government.
A former top BWC official has pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges connected to accepting gifts and other items from those wanting to handle BWC investments.