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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: 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.
Requested by: Greene County Prosecuting Attorney
When county commissioners from multiple counties form a joint board for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a multicounty facility for the training and treatment of juveniles, no county prosecutor from any participating county has a duty to serve as legal counsel to the joint board. (1983 Ohio Atty.Gen.Ops. No. 83-064 approved and followed). The county prosecutor from a single county has no duty to provide legal counsel to the governing board of juvenile judges for a multicounty community corrections facility, nor does the county prosecutor have a duty to represent the juvenile judge from the prosecutor’s county when the judge is acting as a member of the governing board.
Requested by: Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney
The additional salary increase for county officials in 2025 Am.Sub.H.B. No. 96 takes effect on September 30, 2025, which is after the start of county treasurers’ current term of office. Pursuant to Ohio Constitution Article II, Section 20, prohibiting in-term compensation increases, the county treasurers’ salary may only increase at the current annual rate until another term commences.
Requested by: Stark County Prosecuting Attorney
A non-home-rule township lacks authority to directly enter into a memorandum of understanding with a chartered nonpublic school to provide school resource officer services to the school.