(WKBN) – The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a judge did not give a good enough reason as to why the divorce documents of a man running for U.S. Senate to represent Ohio were sealed.

The court said Ashland County Domestic Court Judge Ronald Forsthoefel did not cite the proper legal authority to seal documents related to Josh and Ilana Mandel’s April 2020 marriage dissolution.

Mandel was a former U.S. Senate candidate.

The high court ruled that Judge Forstheofel did not provide “clear and convincing” evidence that the need to seal court records outweighs the right of the public to access records.

The case was brought by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Mandel wanted the 22 documents sealed stating that he was the former state treasurer and member of the Ohio House of Representatives and that his wife is a member of a “very public family in the state” and that sealing was necessary to preserve the confidentiality of their financial information.

The court said there was no legal authority cited in the request to seal the documents.

The newspaper did end up getting some of the documents, but much of the information was redacted.

This decision will set precedent for future document unsealing requests.