Ohio Supreme Court to hear arguments in Dispatch lawsuit over Columbus police records

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a case filed by The Dispatch against Columbus police.

The Dispatch filed the lawsuit last year after Columbus police declined to release the names of officers involved in a fatal shooting on Interstate 70 that resulted in a man's death. Columbus police have used Marsy's Law, designed to protect crime victims, to deny the requests for naming officers, in cases they are victims.

The Ohio Supreme Court said it will announce a date for oral arguments later. Columbus police had argued there should not be arguments in the case. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office also filed a brief supporting Columbus police's position.

Previous coverage: Dispatch files complaint with Ohio Supreme Court against Columbus police seeking records

In addition to Columbus police not releasing the names of the officers in the I-70 shooting and other fatal police shootings, other police departments have followed suit.

Blendon Township has not publicly identified two officers involved in the August 2023 shooting death of Ta'Kiya Young and her unborn child, saying the officers are victims. In a separate legal matter, Young's family has filed a request for the Ohio Supreme Court to force Blendon Township to release the officers' names.

In June, Columbus police released body camera footage from an incident where three officers shot and wounded a man on the Far East Side after the man had reportedly stabbed multiple other people. The department did not redact the officers' names from the footage, allowing their identities to become public.

Columbus police said the officers, in that instance, were not victims of a crime.

bbruner@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Supreme Court to hear arguments in Dispatch lawsuit over Columbus police records