Request By:
Danny Frames, # 201279
Timothy Coleman
Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Commonwealth's Attorney for the 38th Judicial Circuit violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to respond upon receipt of Danny Frames' request for a copy of the audiotape recording of the Grand Jury proceedings for Case No. 05-CR-00176. Although the Commonwealth's Attorney violated KRS 61.880(1) in failing to issue a written response, including a statement of the statutory exception authorizing the withholding of the record in question and a brief explanation of how the exception applies within three business days of receipt, and opted not to respond upon receiving the notification of Mr. Frames' appeal issued by this office, records of the kind requested are permanently excluded from application of the Act pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(h). In our view, 00-ORD-116 and 06-ORD-229 are controlling on the facts presented; a copy of each decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. See 04-ORD-158; 04-ORD-151; 98-ORD-197. With the exception of the noted procedural violation, the Commonwealth's Attorney did not violate the Open Records 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.