The Ohio Attorney General’s office has released a statement concerning a Volunteer Mediation Program it has recently implemented, in which mediation attorneys will assist in public records inquiries that receive a delayed response without legal reason.  The program is designed for use by reporters and citizens who have trouble getting access to the public records they need.  Before the program was implemented, the only recourse a reporter or citizen had for dealing with problems obtaining such documents was to hire a lawyer and litigate the case in the court system.  Due to the hassle and expense involved with litigating a dispute, very few are actually able to do this.  Entities attempting to hide public records are aware of this fact and will now be forced to make the process easier for the requestor who seeks the public documents. 

The mediation program is free and can be accessed by calling the Ohio Attorney General’s Public Records Unit at 1-898-958-5088, or going to www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov to file an online complaint.  Mediation attorneys and the Public Records Unit will then get in touch with the attorney of the entity making the record difficult to access and mediate the dispute.  The intent of this Volunteer Mediation Program is to promote the awareness that the public has absolute right to view public records, unless the records have been restricted by law. 

According to most accounts, entities rarely refuse to produce public records upon request, but will often provide the requestor with excuses and delays that have no legal motive.  It is usually the intent of such entities to delay the request and cause enough frustration on behalf of the requestor, so that the request will be forgotten.  However, with mediation programs such as the newly-implemented Volunteer Mediation Program in Ohio, this type of delay will be less likely to occur once mediation attorneys, who know the law, get involved with the request—all at no cost to the requestor.