Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit, violated the Kentucky Open Records Act by failing to respond upon receipt of the request submitted by Chris Hood for copies of the indictment and the grand jury transcripts relating to 03-CR-00014. Although Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Cocanougher violated KRS 61.880(1) in failing to issue a written response, including a statement of the specific exception authorizing the withholding of the requested records and a brief explanation of how the exception applies, within three business days of receiving Mr. Hood's request, records and information compiled and maintained by Commonwealth's Attorneys pertaining to criminal investigations or criminal litigation are permanently excluded from application of the Open Records Act pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(h). In our estimation, 98-ORD-197, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling on the facts presented. See 04-ORD-158; 04-ORD-151. With the exception of the noted procedural violation, Mr. Cocanougher did not violate the Act.
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 proceeding.
Chris Hood, # 170865Northpoint Training CenterP.O. Box 479Burgin, KY 40310
Tim CocanougherAssistant Commonwealth's AttorneyWashington CountyP.O. Box 388Springfield, KY 40069