Request By:
Ms. Carolyn J. Evans
Court Reporter, Division 1
Campbell Circuit Court
Courthouse
Newport, Kentucky 41071
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
James E. Lang has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of his request to furnish to him copies of various documents which are part of the court records in several specific cases with which he is concerned. He describes the documents in question as copies of the proceedings in indictments numbered 84-CR-130, 131, 132, 133 and 134 that have not been transcribed and made part of the official record on appeal; copies of all motions in those cases that have not been transcribed and made part of the official record on appeal; copies of the "in chambers" proceedings in those cases that were recorded but not made part of the official record on appeal; copies of any and all proceedings in those cases that were recorded but not transcribed and made part of the official record on appeal.
In your letter to James E. Lang, dated June 14, 1985, you advised him in part as follows:
"Further, please be advised that the matters set forth in your communication are not within the contemplation of the Kentucky Open Records Act, KRS 61.870, and I am not required to act according to the time constraints you prescribe. I am replying as a matter of professional courtesy."
Your letter further stated that the Office of Public Advocacy is handling the appeal of the conviction relative to indictment No. 84-CR-133. You complied with the Designation of Record concerning that appeal. You have material relating to the other indictments and you told Mr. Lang he could obtain a transcript for $1.30 per page. Furthermore, copies of those tapes may be secured through proper application to the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Opinion of the Attorney General
KRS 61.878(1) (j) provides that public records or information, the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly, are excluded from the application of the Open Records Act and subject to inspection only upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
KRS 26A.200 provides in part that all records which are made by or generated for or received by any agency of the Court of Justice or by any other court or agency or officer responsible to such court shall be the property of the Court of Justice and subject to the control of the Supreme Court. KRS 26A.220 states as follows:
"All public officers, public agencies, or other persons having custody, control or possession of court records by statute or otherwise shall be subject to the direction of the Supreme Court with regard to such records and no such officer, agency, or person shall fail to comply with any rule, regulation, standard, procedure, or order issued by the Chief Justice or his designee."
In OAG 83-194, copy enclosed, we dealt with the availability of copies of depositions in civil actions under the Open Records Act. We said in part that court records are given a special status and placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice by KRS 26A.200 and 26A.220 and are, therefore, not governed by the laws pertaining to other public records. A copy of a transcript pertaining to a legal proceeding can be obtained from the stenographer who reported the hearing or deposition upon the payment of the required fee.
In conclusion, it is the opinion of the Attorney General that the documents requested to be inspected and copied are court records and, therefore, not subject to the terms and provisions of the Open Records Act.
As required by statute, a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requesting party who has the right to challenge it in circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).