MasonBuzz.com

Michael D. Clark reports:

A public records lawsuit filed to the Ohio Supreme Court and connected to a former special education teacher ended with a settlement approved by the Kings school board Tuesday evening.

The Kings Board of Education voted unanimously to approve an out-of-court settlement with the anti-tax group Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes to release depositions taken by the district’s attorney during an investigation into allegations the former teacher had mistreated students.

The teacher, who resigned last year, was investigated by district officials, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the county prosecutor, but no charges were filed.

The Enquirer is not naming the former teacher because there have been no criminal charges filed by law enforcement agencies, nor are there documented allegations by Kings officials or any findings of wrongdoing by the Ohio Department of Education.

John Charleton, spokesman for state education department, said under Ohio law, department officials do not confirm the existence of any investigation unless it reaches the hearing stage or resolution on whether a teacher’s license is suspended or revoked.

The first complaint about the teacher came to Kings officials in October 2011 and by January 2012 the teacher was placed on administrative leave. The instructor, under a negotiated resignation agreement with the district in March 2012, received a letter of recommendation that included an excerpt from the teacher’s previously favorable job reviews.

Kings officials had initially disputed COAST’s lawsuit, contending depositions done by the district’s attorney with former school staffers, classroom aides and some of the students’ parents were not public record and were covered under attorney-client privilege.

Moreover, said Kings Superintendent Valerie Browning, Kings contended the depositions “might jeopardize the privacy and identity of our students” and their families if they were made public.

(more…)

Posted in: Board of Education, Schools |

Tags: Tags: chris finney, coast, kim grant, kings board of education, kings school district, ohio department of education, ohio supreme court, public records lawsuit, settlement, teacher, warren county sheriffs

Ryan Widmer looks at his family after he was found guilty of murdering his wife Sarah Widmer in 2008. This photo was taken Tuesday, February 15, 2011. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

The Enquirer

The state’s top court won’t give Ryan Widmer a new trial.

In a 4-3 vote, the Ohio Supreme Court declined today to accept his case for review.

Widmer is serving 15 years to life for killing his wife, Sarah, in their Hamilton Township home in 2008.

Widmer’s attorney, Michele Berry, had argued that a Middletown-based appeals court “misinterpreted” existing case law surrounding DNA testing in Ohio when it agreed with Judge Neal Bronson’s refusal to order genetic testing on blood from Widmer’s wife, Sarah.

Widmer and his supporters say his young wife showed possible signs of a genetic heart-rhythm disorder that could have caused her to drown. But she was never tested for that condition, “Long QT Syndrome,” or a similar problem.

The 32-year-old Colerain Township native who last lived in Mason has maintained his innocence.

Widmer’s lawyers have said they plan to appeal to federal courts if the Ohio Supreme Court turned them down.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, long qt, mason, michele berry, ohio supreme court, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Janice Morse reports:

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, crime, dna, mason, murder, ohio supreme court, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

The Enquirer

The Ohio Supreme Court has turned down a request to review Ryan Widmer’s conviction in the 2008 bathtub drowning of his wife, Sarah, 24.

Widmer, 32, a Colerain Township native who last lived in Mason, is serving 15 years to life in prison.

While prosecutors assert that ample evidence points to a forced drowning, Widmer protests his innocence.

He and his supporters say his young wife showed possible signs of a genetic heart-rhythm disorder that could have caused her to drown. But she was never tested for that condition.

Widmer’s lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the conviction after their appeal to the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals failed in January.

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, crime, mason, murder, ohio supreme court, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

The records of the new JobsOhio agency created by Gov. John R. Kasich are out of reach of the public. / Enquirer file photo

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

Consider this:

Ohio legislators created an arson offender registry much like the state’s sex offender registry, supposedly to deter the crime. But unlike the older one, the names of those making the arson list will not be public. That means you won’t know if your neighbor is an arsonist.

Or this:

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled recently that asking for the emails sent to and from public officials is too “ambiguous.”

What’s going on?

Those are just two of many examples of how government is becoming more secretive as lawmakers and the courts turn transparent government to opaque in Ohio.

It means you can’t see what your government is doing or where it’s spending your money or what deals are being cut. In fact, some public officials even want you to pay for accessing what are now free online records – such as the deed to your house or your military discharge papers – if you print them in your own home.

Since the state first enacted its public records law (Ohio Revised Code 149.43) in 1963, the number of legal exemptions spelled out in the law has grown from the first one – medical records – to 29, but that doesn’t include hundreds of other exemptions.

Those fall under a catch-all section that says exemptions found in other state and federal laws also apply. One expert on Ohio records law expects the list to grow. But Greg R. Lawson, policy analyst for the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, said he thought access was “probably about the same (as it always has been) or getting a little bit better.”

The latest exemption? The records of the new JobsOhio agency carved by Gov. John R. Kasich from the former Department of Development are out of reach of the public. Ohio’s top court said that’s OK, because JobsOhio is a private entity, whereas the department was a public one.

(more…)

Posted in: Uncategorized |

Tags: Tags: arson, arsonist, crime, dennis hetzel, department of development, Governor John Kasich, jobsohio, ohio, ohio supreme court, open records, secrets, sex offender registry

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

Newly elected 1st District Court of Appeals judge and Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Pat DeWine is one of 13 candidates for an opening on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Five of those 13 are from Southwest Ohio and include two other appellate court judges, a common pleas judge and a Cincinnati attorney.

DeWine, of Hyde Park and the son of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, applied for the appointment to the court to replace Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton. She announced her retirement in May, effective at the end of the year, so she can devote more time to issues related to mental health, adoption and veterans support.

There are two years remaining on her six-year term. Her replacement, who will be appointed by Gov. John R. Kasich, would face voters in 2014 to remain on the bench for a full term.

Pat DeWine could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Other Southwest Ohio applicants for the job included:

• Judge Patrick Francis Fischer of the Cincinnati-based 1st District Court of Appeals. The Pleasant Ridge resident is also president of the board of the Ohio State Bar Association. Fischer could not be reached for comment.

• Judge Victor Haddad, 51, is one of five judges of the Clermont County Common Pleas Court, which is based in Batavia.

“I’m a dreamer,” said the Pierce Township resident about his interest in the position. “You have to seize the opportunity.”

• Charles M. Miller lives in Indian Hill and is a partner in the Cincinnati law firm Keating Muething & Klekamp.

Miller, 36, clerked for Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and said he has “a lot of experience with members of the court.” Miller said he’s argued about 15 cases before the seven justices.

• Judge Robert Paul Ringland lives in Batavia and serves on the 12th District Court of Appeals, which is based in Middletown and includes Clermont, Butler and Warren counties in its eight-county district.

(more…)

Posted in: News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: charles m. miller, hamilton county common pleas, judge, ohio supreme court, pat dewine, patrick francis fisher, robert cupp, robert ringland, southwest ohio, victor haddad, yvette mcgee brown

Ryan Widmer looks at his family after he was found guilty Tuesday of murdering his wife Sarah Widmer in 2008. This photo was taken Tuesday, February 15, 2011. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Janice Morse reports:

The lawyer for Ryan Widmer, a Warren County man convicted in the bathtub drowning of his newlywed wife, is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to hear his appeal.

Attorney Michele Berry filed a 17-page document Wednesday, arguing that the state’s highest court should accept the case. She argues that the Widmer case meets the court’s requirements that it involves issues of “public or general interest” and “a substantial Constitutional question.”

Berry argues that authorities illegally seized the bathtub from Widmer’s Hamilton Township home after his wife, Sarah, 24, drowned in 2008. The tub was not specifically listed on a search warrant. But the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown said the tub could be considered “an instrumentality of the crime,” and therefore was subject to being seized.

Berry says the appellate court’s decision is out of line with existing case law.

“With this decision, the 12th District now stands alone among courts in its holding that a search warrant or other court authorization is not needed to seize part of a home/real property,” Berry wrote.

Berry also lists several other legal issues she thinks the Ohio Supreme Court should address in Widmer’s case.

Widmer, 31, is serving 15 years to life in prison. A jury convicted him of murder last year in his third trial. Two previous trials ended in mistrials.

The Enquirer will update this story.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: appeal, appellate court, bathtub, bathtub murder, constitution, dateline, mason, michele berry, murder, ohio 12th district court of appeals, ohio supreme court, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Barry M. Horstman reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court today cleared the way for Ohioans to cast early in-person absentee ballots on the final three days before the Nov. 6 election.

In a major legal victory for President Barack Obama’s campaign, Justice Elena Kagan denied Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s request to overturn or put on hold lower federal court rulings that authorized early voting on the final Saturday through Monday before Election Day.

Shortly after the court ruled, Husted set uniform early voting hours for those days in all 88 counties: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m-2 p.m. Monday.

The U.S. Supreme Court today sealed a legal victory for President Barack Obama’s campaign in the pivotal state of Ohio, leaving intact a ruling that restored early voting rights for the weekend before the Nov. 6 election.

Ohio Republicans had sought to cancel early voting that weekend for everyone except members of the military. A U.S. appeals court in Cincinnati blocked the plan last week, saying it probably violated the constitutional rights of non-military voters. In a one-sentence order, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to that ruling, filed by Ohio’s Republican secretary of state and attorney general.

Democrats and Republicans have jockeyed in Ohio for months over early voting, an option used heavily by blacks, women, the elderly and low-income people, according to the appeals court. A trial judge cited an estimate that 100,000 Ohioans would vote in the three days leading up to Election Day.

No Republican has ever won the White House without capturing Ohio, which controls 18 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.

(more…)

Posted in: Uncategorized |

Tags: Tags: absentee, ballot, barack obama, democrat, early voting, election, election 2012, election day, jon husted, mitt romney, ohio supreme court, presidential, republican, secretary of state, weekend

Joshua Engel / Provided photo

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: joshua engel, law, office of the inspector general, ohio department of public safety, ohio supreme court, prosecutor, rachel hutzel, suspended, warren county