COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT
                         COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
                             NO. 66064
S/O EX REL., JOE D'AMBROSIO        :      ORIGINAL ACTION
                                   :      
                                   :       JOURNAL ENTRY
          Relator                  :
                                   :            and
     -vs-                          :
                                   :          OPINION
CITY OF CLEVELAND, ET AL.          :
                                   :
                                   :
          Respondents              :
                                   :
                                   :
DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT                     JULY 19, 1995       
OF DECISION:
CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING:           WRIT OF MANDAMUS
JUDGMENT:                          DISMISSED.
DATE OF JOURNALIZATION:            __________________________
APPEARANCES:
For Relator:                       For Respondent: 
Joe D'Ambrosio, Pro Se             Sharon Sobol Jordan
Southern Ohio Correctional         Acting Director of Law
   Facility                        By:  Joseph J. Jerse
P.O. Box 45699                     Assistant Director of Law
Lucasville, Ohio  45699-0001       Room 106 - City Hall
                                   60l Lakeside Avenue
                                   Cleveland, Ohio 44114
                               - 2 -
HARPER, P.J.:
     Relator,  Joe  D'Ambrosio,  commenced  this  public  records
mandamus action pursuant  to R.C. 149.43 against  the respondent,
the  City of  Cleveland,  to gain  access  to and  copies  of the
following  records:  (1)  all  records,  arrest  records,  notes,
summaries, etc., relating to the homicide of Estel Anthony Klann,
to Estel Anthony  Klann generally, and to  approximately fourteen
other individuals; (2) all records  made by approximately sixteen
named  Cleveland  police officers;  (3)  all records,  files, lab
reports, etc. made by  the coroner's office relating to  Case No.
232189; (4) all  photographs in that  case; (5) all lab  reports,
records, etc. from the Cuyahoga  County Trace Evidence Department
relating   to  that  case;  and  (6)  city  jail  records,  logs,
visitation  records,   incident  reports,  etc.,   maintained  by
Cleveland relating to Mr. D'Ambrosio.  He  is on death row at the
Southern Ohio  Correctional Facility.   His prayer for  relief is
that the  requested records  be made  available to  him and  that
copies be made and  sent to him at no  cost.  Mr. D'Ambrosio  has
never claimed  a designee who would  inspect, pay for or  pick up
the records for him.
     The City of Cleveland moved to  dismiss this mandamus action
on  the  authority of  State ex  rel.  Fenley v.  Ohio Historical
Society (1992), 64 Ohio  St.3d 509, 597  N.E.2d 120 and State  ex
rel.  Nelson v. Fuerst (1993), 66 Ohio  St.3d 47, 607 N.E.2d 836.
In these cases, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that custodians of
public records have no  duty under R.C. 149.43 to  mail copies of
                               - 3 -
any records to  any one.   Thus, because  Mr. D'Ambrosio  demands
that the records be mailed to him and he offers no substitute for
mailing,  i.e.,  a designee,  Cleveland submits  that he  has not
stated a claim for which relief can be granted.
     In State ex rel.  Steckman v. Jackson (1994), 70  Ohio St.3d
420, 639 N.E.2d 83,  the Supreme Court of Ohio  radically changed
Ohio's public records law by ruling that most, if not all, police
investigatory records are  exempt from disclosure and  by holding
that defendants  in criminal  cases may  not avail themselves  of
R.C. 149.43 to  support post-conviction  petitions.  Because  Mr.
D'Ambrosio's requests  are  generally  for  police  investigatory
records and because requests such as  his are designed to support
post-conviction petitions, this  court ordered Mr.  D'Ambrosio to
show cause why  Steckman should not  apply.  He never  responded.
For the following  reasons, this court grants  Cleveland's motion
for summary judgment. 
     Cleveland's argument pursuant  to Fenley and Nelson  is well
taken.  Cleveland has no duty to make copies and mail them to Mr.
D'Ambrosio.     Although  Steckman  ruled   that  designees   are
permissible,  Mr. D'Ambrosio's  failure to  assert that he  has a
designee precludes him from  relief.  State ex rel.  Carpenter v.
Tubbs Jones (1994), 68 Ohio St.3d 181,  624 N.E.2d 1048; State ex
rel.  Finnerty  v.  Custodian  of  Records,  Strongsville  Police
Department (1994), 96 Ohio App.3d 569.
     Moreover, Mr. D'Ambrosio  has made  no showing why  Steckman
should  not  apply  in this  case.    Most, if  not  all,  of the
                               - 4 -
requested  records are  police investigatory  records, which  are
exempt from disclosure and  which may not be pursued  pursuant to
R.C. 149.43 to support post-conviction  petitions.  Additionally,
even before Steckman, many  of the requests, such as  coroner lab
reports and test  results from the trace  department, were exempt
from  disclosure  as  sophisticated,  scientific  investigations.
State ex rel.  Dayton Newspapers, Inc.  v. Rauch (1984), 12  Ohio
St.3d 100, 465 N.E.2d  458.  Accordingly, this case  is dismissed
in light of Steckman.
     Finally,  this  court  dismisses this  case  for  failure to
prosecute.  Accordingly, Cleveland's motion for  summary judgment
is  granted,  and  the  case  is  dismissed.   Costs  awarded  to
respondent.   Relator's motion for an alternative writ is denied.
JAMES D. SWEENEY, J.,      AND
JOSEPH J. NAHRA, J., CONCUR   
.