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Opinions
As chief law officer of the state, the Ohio Attorney General provides written opinions on legal questions at the request of designated public officials on issues arising in the course of their duties. The Attorney General’s Office does not prepare opinions for private citizens. The Opinions Section researches, writes, and prepares for issuance and publication all formal opinions of the Attorney General. For more details about the formal opinions process, please visit the Opinions FAQs.
Opinions prior to 1993 can be found under the Opinions Archive.
The Opinions Section also maintains a listing of previous AG Opinions that have been subsequently overruled.
The Opinions Section can be reached:
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Requested by: Lake County Prosecuting Attorney
Revenue from a special tax levy designated for the “benefit of Lake County for the purpose of providing funds for police equipment and personnel for the Lake County Narcotics Agency” may continue to be used for that purpose notwithstanding that the agency may become a division within the county sheriff’s office for governance purposes.
Requested by: Highland County Prosecuting Attorney
A coroner may appoint a dentist as an investigator under R.C. 313.05. A dentist, however, is not a licensed physician or pathologist under the Revised Code and may not be appointed as deputy coroner under R.C. 313.05.
Requested by: Defiance County Prosecuting Attorney
The Adult Parole Authority may enter into a written agreement with a multi-jurisdictional drug unit to share information, personnel, and services for crime interdiction and fugitive apprehension. However, if a parole officer is not also certified as a peace officer, designating the officer as a special deputy sheriff does not confer any additional authority upon the officer to make arrests, execute search warrants, or engage in the use of force. The officer has more limited authority and would risk incurring personal liability if he exceeds that authority.
Requested by: Greene County Prosecuting Attorney
The Domestic-Relations Division and Juvenile Division of the Greene County Court of Common Pleas qualify as courts of competent jurisdiction to issue warrants for stored electronic communications under 18 U.S.C. §2703. The Probate Division lacks general criminal jurisdiction. Consequently, the probate division is not a court of competent jurisdiction to issue such warrants. If the business of the court requires it, Rule 3.01(B) of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio allows the court’s presiding judge to temporarily assign the probate judge to the general division in order to issue a warrant under 18 U.S.C. §2703.
Requested by: Butler County Prosecuting Attorney
County contracting authorities and their designated selection committees are subject to R.C. 121.22 of the Open Meetings Law when evaluating, ranking, discussing, and negotiating proposals submitted pursuant to R.C. 307.862. These evaluations, rankings, discussions, negotiations and award decisions may be lawfully conducted in a properly called executive session pursuant to R.C. 121.22(G)(2) and (5). Documents and information generated as a result of an executive session or other meeting to evaluate, rank, discuss, or negotiate such proposals, and the eventual contract award, are public records. The sealed proposals and records related to a subsequent negotiation for a final contract, including ranking sheets or documents, are not subject to public inspection and copying under R.C. 149.43 until after the contract is awarded.