January 13, 2026 • 8 mins
The conversation delves into the legal implications surrounding executive sessions held by city councils, particularly focusing on a potential settlement related to a police shooting case. Legal expert Steve Gooden discusses the protocols that should be followed during executive sessions, the authority of city solicitors in settling lawsuits, and the political sensitivities involved in such cases. The discussion highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in local government actions, especially when dealing with sensitive legal matters.
Takeaways
- Executive sessions must state the subject matter before convening.
- Public officials can only discuss certain topics in executive sessions.
- Voting on settlements must occur in public sessions.
- Transparency is crucial for taxpayer trust.
- Legal protocols exist to guide executive session discussions.
- City solicitors have limited authority to settle lawsuits.
- Council approval is needed for significant settlements.
- Political sensitivity is heightened in wrongful death cases.
- Taxpayer lawsuits can be a recourse for violations of transparency.
- Public response can influence political accountability.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He talks Station seven forty nine. I think about PARCV
talk station Happy Tuesday inside Scoop with Wright Bart and
his plus that Daniel Davis Deep Dive for the next
hour and Dusty Rhoades on how property taxes work and
Ken's School, Zoo's and first responders survived without them Without
further ado though, God bless you, welcome back to the
fifty five Kersey Morning Show. In matters involving legal questions,
(00:21):
not good to rely on me anymore. It's been a
while since actively practice law. Steve Gooden, though with the
outstanding law firm, Reporter Wright joins the program to explain
these matters formal counselmen. He is Steve Gooden. They went
into executive session yesterday to talk about we think maybe
the settlement of this lawsuit, the Hinton family lawsuit, which
hasn't been filed, but to talk about settlement. Cheryl Long,
(00:44):
it was revealed, was in settlement discussions with the Hinton family.
Their son, eighteen year old was killed by a police
officer because while he was in a stolen car fleeing
police and then he turned around with a gun pointed
in an officer and ended up losing his life. They
think that is a settlement worthy Now well, Christopher Smithen
was on the program this morning saying, if you go
into executive council, you must let the public know the
(01:06):
subject matter, not the substance of what goes on in there,
but at least the subject matter before going into executive
council and said someone should file a lawsuit because they
didn't do that. Steve Gooden, legal expert, is that a
justiciabal controversy?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You know what sure is? I did take a look
at the agenda. Brian, First, good morning, and second Smitherman
is typically the case is correct and under a high law.
There are only two reasons you can go into executive session.
One is to discuss potential litigation, which is apparently what
happened here. And number two, you can go in to
(01:43):
discuss a personnel matter, particularly a sensitive personnel matter regarding
someone who may have to be fired or what have you.
I mean, those are reasons you're allowed as a public
official to go in and talk with your legal counsel
and your city manager off the record, as it were.
There's an attorney client privilege that attaches, so that in
and of itself isn't illegal. That is just that's a
(02:06):
place where state law trumps the local law. But that said,
there's two big things about executive session. Legally. Number one,
you have to state which category it is that you're
talking about. Yesterday's agenda did not do that. We know
because of all the various leaks at City Hall that
they were talking about a potential hidden settlement, but they
(02:27):
didn't acknowledge that publicly. That's number one. Number Two, you
can't vote on the settlement, or actually vote on anything
during executive session. The ultimate decisions have to be made
out in a public forum. So for instance, this eight
point one million dollar travesty of a settlement they gave
to the George Floyd protesters earlier this month. I mean,
(02:50):
they did have to actually go into regular session to
vote on that. We presume they had had prior executive
sessions about it. We didn't know. They're not doing a
very good job of putting out there that the executive session,
you know, what the subject matter of them are. But
I mean that's really where this is. I mean, they
really should be telling people at least the general subject
(03:14):
matter of what's going on here. It's a horrible look,
but I guess, good thing for the taxpayers. City hall
leagues like a sieve and always has.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah, it does. And thankfully we have outlets that let
us know actually what's going on behind the scenes, because
they apparently are talking and coming out of the closed
door session, the executive session. No single city council member
of these spokespeople for the city manager or the city
manager or the mayor set a peep. They just refused
comment to the enquire and of the local reporters on
what they what they They could have said, we were
(03:44):
talking about a potential settlement. They're allowed to say what
the subject matter is. They just couldn't talk about what
specifically happened in the meeting, right.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, look, I mean, like
I said, there's only to mine. I mean, look, and
I've been advising the municipalities on and off for twenty
five five years. There's really only two reasons why you
have an executive session. And you're really supposed to put
that at least in the record, if not on the agenda.
You know, I actually pulled the paper agenda off the
city's webside. It just says executive you know, session pursuant
(04:15):
to Ohio a biased code section. Blah blah blah. That's
all it says. So, you know, particularly if they're considering
doing something this sensitive, this unpopular, I mean, just to
be very clear, what apparently is being contemplated here, you know,
is you know, a settlement with this Hinton family where
the father is currently facing trial for murdering a sheriff's deputy,
(04:38):
a totally innocent sheriff's deputy, purportedly because he watched the
video of his son being shot by police Cincinnati police
and goes off and does this like senseless, horrific crime.
So I think one of the big issues is we
don't really have a law in Ohio as some states
do that would ban the father from getting some of
(04:59):
the pro seeds. Now, in all likelihood he's going to
be in jail the rest of his life. But I
think it will be major Hartburn. Even if this was
a band shooting of the young hunt and kid, which
every indication I've heard is that it is not. The
prosecutor's office declined to prosecute the police officer, the city
has taken no action. I have not watched the video,
(05:20):
but I am told that you can see that the
young man had a gun and was fleeing from a
stolen car, classic circumstances, and which use of force would
typically be justified by a police officer. Why they would
be trying to settle that in the first instance is
a big question mark. And then a huge question mark
is how and why would they be looking at giving
money to a family where the father has all but
(05:44):
admitted to murdering a police officer. Well, I mean it's
a politically sentative situation times ten.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, since this idea that there was a settlement going
on behind the scenes came out of the blue question
I had the other day and I've been told, yes,
the city solicitor does she have the authority to sell
I mean, the city solicitor apparently has the authority to
settle lawsuits. They don't need council's approval. City solicitor works
for the city manager. Does that mean that if the
city manager and the solicitor decide they're going to write
a check for X amount of the hitting family, that
(06:11):
the council really has no control over that.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, it depends on the circumstances. On Alan Brian, I mean,
there are I recall under the city's current administrative code,
the city manager can settle smaller lawsuits, but I can't
remember what the exact monetary cutoff is. The council must
approve a lawsuit, certainly anything in the seven figures, which
(06:36):
is typically what happens in a wrongful death scenario. So
there are some smaller suits that the city solicitor and
the city manager can settle, but nothing like this. So
if you're going to actually move bigger amounts of money,
council has to approve it. Well, they're allowed to. I mean,
they routinely settle small thunder bender case with city vehicles
(07:01):
and things of that nature. But the big things they
have to get approval, all.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Right, And I know right of time, Joe, But I
got to ask this one question. The Bell's been wrong.
They went into executive council sais without mentioning why they
were doing it. If that is an actionable offense, what's
the legal recourse, what's the remedy for that? Because the
Bell's been wrong, they had the meeting.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, you're right, I mean, I mean typically what someone
would do would be a taxpayer would file aolitical a
taxpayer lawsuit saying that they feel that their rights have
been violated, and you try to get into the Common
Police Court locally and see if you could convince a
judge to award some sort of damages to that taxpayer
as a deterrent to these guys. You know, my concern
(07:43):
is that that really they don't seem to be all
that interested in being deterred, and they don't really seem
to be paying any political price right now the way
the city voters are responding. So you file a lawsuit,
but what good would do I really don't.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Know, Maybe just to make a point judgment suitable for framing.
That's why we have legal expert Steve Goodin from the
law firm Reporter Right to help us out with these matters. Steve,
thank you so much for gring to join the program
late in the game. And you're always welcome here, and
you know we're going to be calling you anytime we
need sound legal advice and explanation.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Hey, anytime, Brian, you guys take care.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Happy New Year, my friend, Happy New Year. Five to
seventy or seven fifty seven fifty five K see the
talk station. I'm going to hear the inside scoop with
John Carney telling us
He talks Station seven forty nine. I think about PARCV
talk station Happy Tuesday inside Scoop with Wright Bart and
his plus that Daniel Davis Deep Dive for the next
hour and Dusty Rhoades on how property taxes work and
Ken's School, Zoo's and first responders survived without them Without
further ado though, God bless you, welcome back to the
fifty five Kersey Morning Show. In matters involving legal questions,
(00:21):
not good to rely on me anymore. It's been a
while since actively practice law. Steve Gooden, though with the
outstanding law firm, Reporter Wright joins the program to explain
these matters formal counselmen. He is Steve Gooden. They went
into executive session yesterday to talk about we think maybe
the settlement of this lawsuit, the Hinton family lawsuit, which
hasn't been filed, but to talk about settlement. Cheryl Long,
(00:44):
it was revealed, was in settlement discussions with the Hinton family.
Their son, eighteen year old was killed by a police
officer because while he was in a stolen car fleeing
police and then he turned around with a gun pointed
in an officer and ended up losing his life. They
think that is a settlement worthy Now well, Christopher Smithen
was on the program this morning saying, if you go
into executive council, you must let the public know the
(01:06):
subject matter, not the substance of what goes on in there,
but at least the subject matter before going into executive
council and said someone should file a lawsuit because they
didn't do that. Steve Gooden, legal expert, is that a
justiciabal controversy?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You know what sure is? I did take a look
at the agenda. Brian, First, good morning, and second Smitherman
is typically the case is correct and under a high law.
There are only two reasons you can go into executive session.
One is to discuss potential litigation, which is apparently what
happened here. And number two, you can go in to
(01:43):
discuss a personnel matter, particularly a sensitive personnel matter regarding
someone who may have to be fired or what have you.
I mean, those are reasons you're allowed as a public
official to go in and talk with your legal counsel
and your city manager off the record, as it were.
There's an attorney client privilege that attaches, so that in
and of itself isn't illegal. That is just that's a
(02:06):
place where state law trumps the local law. But that said,
there's two big things about executive session. Legally. Number one,
you have to state which category it is that you're
talking about. Yesterday's agenda did not do that. We know
because of all the various leaks at City Hall that
they were talking about a potential hidden settlement, but they
(02:27):
didn't acknowledge that publicly. That's number one. Number Two, you
can't vote on the settlement, or actually vote on anything
during executive session. The ultimate decisions have to be made
out in a public forum. So for instance, this eight
point one million dollar travesty of a settlement they gave
to the George Floyd protesters earlier this month. I mean,
(02:50):
they did have to actually go into regular session to
vote on that. We presume they had had prior executive
sessions about it. We didn't know. They're not doing a
very good job of putting out there that the executive session,
you know, what the subject matter of them are. But
I mean that's really where this is. I mean, they
really should be telling people at least the general subject
(03:14):
matter of what's going on here. It's a horrible look,
but I guess, good thing for the taxpayers. City hall
leagues like a sieve and always has.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah, it does. And thankfully we have outlets that let
us know actually what's going on behind the scenes, because
they apparently are talking and coming out of the closed
door session, the executive session. No single city council member
of these spokespeople for the city manager or the city
manager or the mayor set a peep. They just refused
comment to the enquire and of the local reporters on
what they what they They could have said, we were
(03:44):
talking about a potential settlement. They're allowed to say what
the subject matter is. They just couldn't talk about what
specifically happened in the meeting, right.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, look, I mean, like
I said, there's only to mine. I mean, look, and
I've been advising the municipalities on and off for twenty
five five years. There's really only two reasons why you
have an executive session. And you're really supposed to put
that at least in the record, if not on the agenda.
You know, I actually pulled the paper agenda off the
city's webside. It just says executive you know, session pursuant
(04:15):
to Ohio a biased code section. Blah blah blah. That's
all it says. So, you know, particularly if they're considering
doing something this sensitive, this unpopular, I mean, just to
be very clear, what apparently is being contemplated here, you know,
is you know, a settlement with this Hinton family where
the father is currently facing trial for murdering a sheriff's deputy,
(04:38):
a totally innocent sheriff's deputy, purportedly because he watched the
video of his son being shot by police Cincinnati police
and goes off and does this like senseless, horrific crime.
So I think one of the big issues is we
don't really have a law in Ohio as some states
do that would ban the father from getting some of
(04:59):
the pro seeds. Now, in all likelihood he's going to
be in jail the rest of his life. But I
think it will be major Hartburn. Even if this was
a band shooting of the young hunt and kid, which
every indication I've heard is that it is not. The
prosecutor's office declined to prosecute the police officer, the city
has taken no action. I have not watched the video,
(05:20):
but I am told that you can see that the
young man had a gun and was fleeing from a
stolen car, classic circumstances, and which use of force would
typically be justified by a police officer. Why they would
be trying to settle that in the first instance is
a big question mark. And then a huge question mark
is how and why would they be looking at giving
money to a family where the father has all but
(05:44):
admitted to murdering a police officer. Well, I mean it's
a politically sentative situation times ten.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, since this idea that there was a settlement going
on behind the scenes came out of the blue question
I had the other day and I've been told, yes,
the city solicitor does she have the authority to sell
I mean, the city solicitor apparently has the authority to
settle lawsuits. They don't need council's approval. City solicitor works
for the city manager. Does that mean that if the
city manager and the solicitor decide they're going to write
a check for X amount of the hitting family, that
(06:11):
the council really has no control over that.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, it depends on the circumstances. On Alan Brian, I mean,
there are I recall under the city's current administrative code,
the city manager can settle smaller lawsuits, but I can't
remember what the exact monetary cutoff is. The council must
approve a lawsuit, certainly anything in the seven figures, which
(06:36):
is typically what happens in a wrongful death scenario. So
there are some smaller suits that the city solicitor and
the city manager can settle, but nothing like this. So
if you're going to actually move bigger amounts of money,
council has to approve it. Well, they're allowed to. I mean,
they routinely settle small thunder bender case with city vehicles
(07:01):
and things of that nature. But the big things they
have to get approval, all.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Right, And I know right of time, Joe, But I
got to ask this one question. The Bell's been wrong.
They went into executive council sais without mentioning why they
were doing it. If that is an actionable offense, what's
the legal recourse, what's the remedy for that? Because the
Bell's been wrong, they had the meeting.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, you're right, I mean, I mean typically what someone
would do would be a taxpayer would file aolitical a
taxpayer lawsuit saying that they feel that their rights have
been violated, and you try to get into the Common
Police Court locally and see if you could convince a
judge to award some sort of damages to that taxpayer
as a deterrent to these guys. You know, my concern
(07:43):
is that that really they don't seem to be all
that interested in being deterred, and they don't really seem
to be paying any political price right now the way
the city voters are responding. So you file a lawsuit,
but what good would do I really don't.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Know, Maybe just to make a point judgment suitable for framing.
That's why we have legal expert Steve Goodin from the
law firm Reporter Right to help us out with these matters. Steve,
thank you so much for gring to join the program
late in the game. And you're always welcome here, and
you know we're going to be calling you anytime we
need sound legal advice and explanation.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Hey, anytime, Brian, you guys take care.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Happy New Year, my friend, Happy New Year. Five to
seventy or seven fifty seven fifty five K see the
talk station. I'm going to hear the inside scoop with
John Carney telling us
Brian Thomas News
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