Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Louisville Metro Police Department violated the Open Records Act in the disposition of Michael G. Holmes' March 4, 2008, request for a copy of the evidence log-in sheets, chain of custody forms, and lab reports relating to the uniform citation issued in indictment number 06CR-001745. For the reasons that follow, we find that the LMPD did not violate the Act.
In an April 18, 2008, response directed to this office, LMPD Public Information Specialist Alicia M. Smiley notified this office that because Mr. Holmes' request was improperly addressed, it did not reach the agency's records custodian until March 27, 2008. 1 Ms. Smiley indicated that the LMPD issued a response to Mr. Holmes' request on March 31, 2008, in which she advised him that "a total of four records ha[d] been located and [could] be obtained for a prepaid fee of $ .10 per page in addition to $ .41 postage. " She further advised him that the requested records would be mailed to him upon receipt of a check or money order, payable to the Louisville Metro Police, in the amount of $ .81. As of April 18, the LMPD had "not received any further communication from Mr. Holmes regarding [its] response to his open records request." This office has not been apprised of any subsequent developments.
It is the decision of this office that the LMPD properly responded to Mr. Holmes' request by notifying him of the availability of responsive records and conditioning release of those records on prepayment of reasonable copying and postage charges. KRS 61.872(3) provides:
(3) A person may inspect the public records:
Thus, the LMPD did not violate the Open Records Act in conditioning release of the requested records on prepayment of reasonable copying and postage charges. We believe that 99-ORD-30, and, in particular, the discussion at pages 4 and 5 of that decision, is dispositive of the issue on appeal. A copy of that decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. The Open Records Act contains no provision for waiver of the prepayment requirements found at KRS 61.872(3)(b). Upon receipt of these fees from Mr. Holmes, the LMPD will release all responsive records to him.
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.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 We note that the LMPD did not make it abundantly clear to whom, and at what address, requests for LMPD records should be addressed. Ms. Smiley, who does not identify herself as the LMPD's official custodian of records, but responded to Mr. Holmes' request and appeal, is apparently attached to the Media and Public Relations Unit of the Louisville Metro Police located at 633 W. Jefferson Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. We therefore assume that she is the appropriate official, and that this is the appropriate address, to which requests should be directed, and that this is reflected in KRS 61.876 compliant rules and regulations displayed in a prominent location accessible to the public.
2 Mr. Holmes is obviously foreclosed from conducting an onsite inspection of the requested record by virtue of the fact that he is currently incarcerated in the Shelby County Detention Center.
3 See also KRS 61.874(1).