Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that the Department of Corrections' February 13, 2002 response to Charles Sheean's January 28, 2002 open records request was procedurally deficient 1 but substantively correct. Mr. Sheean requested access to "information verifying the total amount of convicted arsonists within the last ten years that [have] been released from a Kentucky Correctional Facility on parole to any Halfway House/Community Corrections Center in Kentucky, and the names of the Halfway Houses/Community Corrections Centers . . . that accepted convicted arsonists released on a Kentucky parole." The Department denied his request, explaining that it does not maintain the statistics requested and would be required to extract the information from its database by means of a specially generated program, thereby creating a record that does not currently exist. Based on the reasoning set forth in 01-ORD-158 and 02-ORD-48, copies of which are attached hereto and incorporated by reference, we affirm the Department's denial of Mr. Sheean's request. Further, we find that although Mr. Sheean's appeal was dated February 27, 2002, it did not reach this office until March 28, 2002 and was therefore time barred pursuant to KRS 197.025(3). 2
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.
Charles Sheean, # 102651P. O. Box 5128Eddyville, KY 42038-5128
Tanya L. DickinsonDepartment of Corrections2439 Old Lawrenceburg RoadFrankfort, KY 40602-2400
John T. DamronDepartment of Corrections2439 Old Lawrenceburg RoadFrankfort, KY 40602-2400
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 Clearly, the Department's response was not issued within five business days of receipt as required by KRS 197.025(7) and was therefore untimely.
2 KRS 197.025(3) provides:
KRS 61.880 to the contrary notwithstanding, all persons confined in a penal facility shall challenge any denial of an open record with the Attorney General by mailing or otherwise sending the appropriate documents to the Attorney General within twenty (20) days of the denial pursuant to the procedures set out in KRS 61.880(2) before an appeal can be filed in a Circuit Court.
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