Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, 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 Green River Correctional Complex properly relied on KRS 197.025(1), 1 incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(1), 2 in denying Uriah M. Pasha's November 21, 2006, request for a copy of the "MAS 3 hearing result on November 21, 2006[,] . . . [the] statement from information report that caused MAS status[,] . . . [and] any EOR that went with the report." It is the decision of this office that 06-ORD-161, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is directly controlling as to both the law and the facts of this case. 4 There, we affirmed a correctional facility's denial of Mr. Pasha's request for a nearly identical record on an identical basis, specifically, that disclosure of the "document used to place Uriah Pasha . . . on maximum assaultive status June 1, 2006, . . . is considered to be a security threat to the institution and correctional personnel . . . ." As we noted in that decision, and have noted in numerous prior decisions:
[T]his office has consistently recognized that KRS 197.025(1) vests the commissioner or his designee with broad discretion in determining whether disclosure of records would pose a legitimate security threat. Accordingly, this office has declined to substitute its judgment for that of the correctional facility or the Department of Corrections.
06-ORD-161, p. 4, citing 96-ORD-179; 00-ORD-125; 03-ORD-190; 06-ORD-026. We therefore find that GRCC's denial of Mr. Pasha's request was procedurally and substantively correct, and that the facility did not violate the Open Records Act in the disposition of that request. We are not statutorily empowered to adjudicate any other claims Mr. Pasha raises.
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.
Uriah M. Pasha, # 92028Teresa ShanklinVanessa DortchEmily Dennis
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 197.025(1) provides as follows:
KRS 61.884 and 61.878 to the contrary notwithstanding, no person shall have access to any records if the disclosure is deemed by the commissioner of the department or his designee to constitute a threat to the security of the inmate, any other inmate, correctional staff, the institution, or any other person.
2 KRS 61.878(1)(l) authorizes public agencies to withhold "Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly."
3 Maximum Assaultive Status.
4 Mr. Pasha cites 06-ORD-221 for the proposition that he is "not a threat to the safety or security of any institution . . . ." We find nothing in the cited decision supporting this proposition, and therefore consider it inapposite.
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