Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, 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 the Kentucky State Police properly relied on KRS 61.878(l)(h) and KRS 17.150(2), incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(l), 1 in denying Ilker Onen's request, on behalf of his client, Robert Carl Foley, for the "investigative files related to the murder case of Lynn and Rodney Vaughn in Laurel County in 1991 involving Robert Carl Foley DOB 9/13/56, Case Numbers 11-91-1697 and 11-91-1698." It is the decision of this office that 05-ORD-246, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is dispositive of the issue on appeal. Here, as in 05-ORD-246, the requester acknowledges that the requested record is needed to support his client's claims in the post-conviction phase of his case. It is because of this fact, and not in spite of this fact, that KRS 61.878(1)(h) and KRS 17.150(2), as construed in
Skaggs v. Redford, 844 S.W.2d 389 (Ky. 1992) and
Bowling v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, 172 S.W.3d 333 (Ky. 2005), are controlling. Mr. Onen is not entitled to the requested records, under the Open Records Act, "so long as the possibility of further judicial proceedings in this case remains a significant prospect." Skaggs, at 391.
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 KRS 61.878(1)(l) authorizes public agencies to withhold "[p]ublic records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly."