Request By:
Danny Shelley, # 165198Gwen R. Pinson
Executive Director
Office of the General Counsel
Finance and Administration Cabinet
188 Capitol Annex
Frankfort, KY 40601Travis Powell
Attorney
Office of General Counsel
Finance and Administration Cabinet
188 Capitol Annex
Frankfort, KY 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the response of the Finance and Administration Cabinet to Danny Shelley's request for a copy of "[a]ll records purporting to document payments made pursuant to orders of the Pulaski Circuit Court and Commonwealth vs. Danny Shelley, Indictment No. 02-CR-00094," violated the Open Records Act.
Responding to Mr. Shelley's request on behalf of the Cabinet, Gwen R. Pinson, Executive Director, advised:
In response to the request, please be advised that the normal custodian of that information is not the Finance and Administration Cabinet, but rather your request should be directed to the Pulaski Circuit Court Clerk, Third Floor, Courthouse, 100 North Main Street, Somerset, Kentucky 42501.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Shelley initiated the instant appeal, arguing that it was his belief that the Cabinet would not pay out monies without producing a paperwork trail.
After receipt of notification of the appeal, Travis Powell, Attorney, Office of General Counsel, provided this office with a response, on behalf of the Cabinet, to the issues raised in the appeal. In his response, he advised:
The Cabinet maintains its position that it is not the custodian of the records sought by Mr. Shelley. After pertinent Cabinet staff members indicated that the Cabinet did not maintain the records requested, an inquiry was made to the Department of Corrections. Counsel for the Department of Corrections suggested that the Pulaski Circuit Court would be in possession of the records sought. Thereafter, pursuant to KRS 61.872(4), the Cabinet notified Mr. Shelley that it was not the custodian of the records he sought and provided him with the name and location of the official custodian of the said records, Pulaski Circuit Court.
It is certainly not the intention of the Cabinet to withhold records which may be lawfully produced through the Open Records Act. The Cabinet directed Mr. Shelley to the proper custodian of the records in accordance with provisions of the Act. Again to the best of its knowledge, the Cabinet does not maintain the requested records.
The Cabinet maintained in its supplemental response provided to this office that it has no records responsive to Mr. Shelley's request. The Cabinet discharged its statutory duty by so notifying him and furnishing him with the name and location of the official custodian of the record, the Pulaski Circuit Court. KRS 61.872(4).
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.