Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; James M. Herrick, 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 Commonwealth's Attorney for the 23rd Judicial Circuit properly denied Donald Story's request for records identified as "Copies of the Autopsy Reports for Irene Rogers, and Odis Rogers[;] Copies of any items, or lists of items removed from the Rogers' vehicle after the accident; [and] Copies of any Toxicology Reports from Irene and Odis Rogers. (Re; Commonwealth v. Donald Story, Indictment No. 00-CR-00011)." Pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(h), records compiled and maintained by the Commonwealth's Attorney pertaining to criminal investigations or criminal litigation are exempted from the provisions of the Kentucky Open Records Act, and remain exempted after enforcement action, including litigation, is completed, or a decision is made to take no action. We believe that 96-ORD-230, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling.
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.