Here’s an interesting article about a new Ohio law that takes effect April 4. The new law, SB 288, makes a significant change to the Ohio law governing access to autopsy records. The law as currently written says this:
R.C. 313.10 (D) A journalist may submit to the coroner a written request to view preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings, suicide notes, or photographs of the decedent made by the coroner or by anyone acting under the coroner's discretion or supervision. The request shall include the journalist's name and title and the name and address of the journalist's employer and state that the granting of the request would be in the best interest of the public. If a journalist submits a written request to the coroner to view the records described in this division, the coroner shall grant the journalist's request. The journalist shall not copy the preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings, suicide notes, or photographs of the decedent.
The law lets the public peek into the workings of a coroner, before the final autopsy report. As the linked article points out, this access has allowed the media to report on controversial events, like police shootings, when the news is fresh and public interest is highest. But those days are through.
As of April 4, 2023, the law will put a blanket over any records that are the subject of a police investigation:
(D) A journalist may submit to the coroner a written request to view suicide notes, photographs of the decedent made by the coroner or by anyone acting under the coroner's discretion or supervision, or preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings but not records of a deceased individual that are confidential law enforcement investigatory records as defined in section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The request shall include the journalist's name and title and the name and address of the journalist's employer and state that the granting of the request would be in the best interest of the public. If a journalist submits a written request to the coroner to view the records described in this division, the coroner shall grant the journalist's request. The journalist shall not copy the preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings, suicide notes, or photographs of the decedent.
This effectively shields the public from the whole story. According to the linked article, no one seems to be able to explain why lawmakers felt it necessary to change this long-standing practice. According to a statement released by Senator Nathan Manning, the bill’s sponsor, it has something to do with “a legal battle between the Cincinnati Enquirer and Pike County officials, who blocked access to the autopsy reports of a family of eight killed in 2016.” According to the statement, “[t]he preliminary autopsy might contain some of the same confidential investigatory information that the final autopsy does. If a journalist views that information in the preliminary autopsy and ultimately reports on it, it still loses its investigative value.”
It’s interesting that the Pike County case led to this result. My colleague Darren Ford and I represented the Cincinnati Enquirer in that case, and we successfully defended the reporter’s right to view the preliminary records from those brutal killings. It is worth noting that four perpetrators have been arrested. Two have confessed, one has been convicted and the fourth awaits trial. It’s hard to see how the reporter’s inspection of the preliminary records affected the investigative value of the material.
It's too bad that Ohio passed this new law. It’s worse that no one can come up with a good reason for it.
