State v. Rhodes, 2017 Ohio 441

Ruben J. Rhodes was indicted in two separate Ohio indictments charging drug-trafficking–related offenses and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; he was tried on both indictments together and convicted on all counts.
This court affirmed the convictions but remanded for resentencing to merge certain possession counts with corresponding trafficking counts; the trial court resentenced Rhodes and again imposed an aggregate 37-year term.
Rhodes sought post-trial access to the grand jury transcripts for both indictments, asserting he needed them to demonstrate actual innocence in potential postconviction proceedings or to support a federal habeas petition.
The trial court denied the motion for production of grand jury transcripts.
Rhodes appealed the denial, arguing the court erred by refusing access to the grand jury minutes/transcripts.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Rhodes was entitled to grand jury transcripts post-conviction	State: No pending matter before the trial court justified disclosure; secrecy of grand jury proceedings must be preserved	Rhodes: Needs transcripts to support potential postconviction petition or federal habeas petition; argued a particularized need exists	The court held Rhodes was not entitled to the transcripts because no matter was pending in the trial court requiring discovery; the motion therefore lacked a jurisdictional basis and denial was proper

State v. Greer, 66 Ohio St.2d 139 (1981) (grand jury proceedings are secret; disclosure requires a showing of particularized need that outweighs secrecy)