MIDDLETOWN - Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson improperly blocked media access to information in the Ryan Widmer re-trial last June, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

The decision, prompted by a challenge from The Enquirer, ruled that Bronson should first have held a hearing before barring a reporter from observing jurors on a trip to the Hamilton Township home where Widmer allegedly drowned his wife Sarah in 2008.

For the same reason, the three-judge appeals panel also ruled that Bronson was wrong to ban Hamilton Township officials from releasing personnel records of Lt. Jeff Braley, the lead investigator in the case.

Widmer's lawyers planned to use information from the file during the trial to impeach Braley's credibility. Braley claimed someone else put erroneous notations in the file about his professional qualifications and educational background.