Josh Mandel's divorce file to be open to public, court rules
Laura A. Bischoff
The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that an Ashland County judge improperly agreed to seal records in Josh Mandel and Ilana Shafran Mandel's divorce case.
In February 2021, The Enquirer sued to open the records to the public.
The couple filed for divorce in April 2020 in Ashland County even though they lived in Cuyahoga County. Judge Ronald Forsthoefel, a Republican, sealed records about the couple's dissolution, which included details about their income, property and shared parenting plan.
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Ohio Rules of Superintendence, which govern Ohio courts, requires a judge to make records public unless there is clear and convincing evidence that public access is outweighed by other interests, such as threats to a person's safety. Forsthoefel sealed the case without holding a hearing or receiving any evidence.
While running in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, Mandel released redacted copies of the file to Ohio political reporters, including the Enquirer.
Judge Forsthoefel argued that this case was moot because the Enquirer had received documents relating to the dissolution case. But the supreme court said the Enquirer wanted an order telling Forsthoefel to vacate the sealing and provide public access to the unredacted records.
After serving on the Lyndhurst City Council, Mandel ran for the Ohio House in 2006 and served two terms before running for state treasurer in 2010. Just months after being sworn in as treasurer, Mandel announced his run for U.S. Senate. He lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown in 2012 and ran for reelection as state treasurer. He was ready to take on Brown again in 2018 but abruptly dropped out, saying he needed to attend to his wife's health.
Mandel lost the Republican primary to J.D. Vance and largely slipped out of public view.
The Enquirer has won public records victories, including:
- 2015: call backs made by 911 dispatchers are public records.
- 2016: most police dash cam video is a public record.
- 2019: text messages sent by public officials about public business are public records.
- 2020: University of Cincinnati must release police records.
- 2022: a police officer cannot sue anonymously people who called him racist.