The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday from a political blog that sued the state after it refused to provide access to records of threats against the governor.
Plunderbund Media made a public records request to the Ohio Department of Public Safety in 2012 after the governor's office refused to release the Gov. John Kasich's daily schedules, citing security concerns. The Ohio State Highway Patrol, which is part of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, handles security for the governor.
The department rejected the request, saying investigations of the threats are "security records," exempt from disclosure under the state's public records law. Plunderbund argues that some information in the threat investigations qualifies as a "routine offense and incident report."
In a brief to the court, Plunderbund's attorney argues that state law focuses on the "public office" but does not mention public officers, so it does not apply to individuals such as the governor.
The attorney also disputes that the governor has a right to privacy that allows the public safety department to withhold the records that have been requested.