Ohio state Representative John Becker (R-Union Township/Clermont County) on Tuesday filed a writ of mandamus with the Twelfth District Court of Appeals in Middletown, Ohio – as a private citizen, using his own resources.
This comes after Becker turned in a Private Client Affidavit (PCA) on September 28 that was rejected by Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney D. Vincent Faris.
The PCA listed 10 crimes Becker alleges Governor Mike DeWine committed while leading Ohio’s COVID response.
A writ of mandamus is an order issued by a superior court compelling a government officer to perform a mandatory duty. In this case, if the Twelfth Circuit Court agreed with Becker’s legal argument, then the court would order Faris to either issue a warrant for DeWine’s arrest or take up an official investigation into Becker’s PCA.
The Ohio Star reported in August on Becker’s release of articles of impeachment– along with state representatives Nino Vitale (R-Urbana), Paul Zeltwanger (R-Mason) and Candice Keller (R-Middletown).
According to Becker, his Republican colleagues told him they would not support an impeachment that didn’t involve a crime.
Weeks later, Becker filed his PCA with its seven felony and three misdemeanor allegations.
After prosecutor Faris dismissed the claims made by Becker, The Star reached out to the prosecutor for comment. After trading phone messages, The Star sent questions to the prosecutor in an email – questions that have yet to be answered.
“I’m very disappointed by Prosecutor Faris’ failure to perform his clear legal duty under the law,” Becker said in a released statement provided to The Star. “He must have been very busy that day.”
In the statement, Becker wrote that he received feedback from Ohioans who are also attempting to file PCAs but getting resistance in their local government offices.
Becker said, “It is likely that many customer service employees in the Clerk’s offices are not familiar with PCAs and simply don’t know what to do with them. You might want to explain that a PCA is a sworn statement seeking charges rather than bringing charges. It would accompany a complaint (charges) that a prosecutor could choose to move forward with.”
Becker then lists additional instructions and offers to guide others through the process.
– – –
Jack Windsor is Managing Editor and an Investigative Reporter at The Ohio Star. Windsor is also an Investigative Reporter at WMFD-TV. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
