Request By:
Commissioner Bruce Montgomery
Department of Parks
Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Thomas C. Jacobs, Deputy Attorney General
By letter of July 26, 1977 you have asked this office to reconsider its opinion expressed in OAG 77-340 concerning the interpretation of what constitutes a "public place" in connection with rights of inspection of certain deputy sheriffs.
This matter has been discussed with your counsel, Mr. Robert H. Penn, and it is now our opinion that OAG 77-340 took an approach much too marrow and same is hereby modified as follows.
It is the opinion of Mr. Penn that if a banquet room is rented for a dinner or dance or other similar use, which is open to the general public for an admission fee, then the room would constitute a public place. We agree.
However, you state that you have always assumed that, if that same banquet room was rented to a given corporation or organization for a regional sales convention or meeting, and admission to the room was limited solely to the salesmen, officers, or other persons associated directly with that company or organization, and entrance could not be gained by members of the general public, then it would in fact be a "private" room. You feel that this is a valid and important distinction and that such decisions with regard to accessibility must be made on a case by case basis each time the facility is rented. We agree.
The basis for a determination as to whether or not a meeting room is private or public is to be determined on an ad hoc basis with reference to the purpose for which the room is being used. If the room is being used for a public function, open to public entrance, then it certainly is open to public inspection by the sheriff and his deputies. In the alternative, if the room is rented to a private organization for a private purpose and access is limited to only those persons associated with the private renting organization, then the room is a "private room" and access to the outside public, including the sheriff and his deputies, is not permitted.
We apologize for the unduly strict construction applied in the earlier opinion and hope that this letter will resolve any doubts raised by same. We regret any inconvenience our earlier correspondence may have caused you and your staff in the Kentucky State Park System.