State ex rel. Gooden v. Kagel

Appellant was ordered to pay restitution to several victims as part of his sentence for a criminal conviction. Thereafter, Appellant filed a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking public records, claiming that despite several requests, Appellee failed to provide him with certified copies of the victim-loss statement for each victim. The court of appeals issued an alternative writ ordering Appellee to respond to the complaint, to which Appellee responded that she was not and had ever been in possession of the documents Appellant was seeking. The court of appeals subsequently dismissed the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals properly dismissed the petition because Appellant failed to file the documentation required by Ohio Rev. Code 2969.25 with his petition and because he failed to show that the victim-loss statements that he requested existed. View "State ex rel. Gooden v. Kagel" on Justia Law