11-ORD-187 | KOGC

Opinion

Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Decision

The question presented in this appeal is whether the Kentucky State Reformatory violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in denying Uriah Pasha's September 28, 2011, request for a "copy of the report(s) C/O Powell submitted to her supervisor(s) complaining about Uriah Pasha # 92028 actions toward or against her during the months of January thur [sic] September 2011." In a timely written response, KSR denied access on the bases of "KRS 61.878(1) (i,j,g,h)," quoting the language of KRS 61.878(1)(i) and (j) without further explanation. On appeal, however, KSR advised that two responsive reports exist, which are dated September 1, 2011, and September 22, 2011, respectively. Because the "disciplinary investigation has been finalized," KSR has now provided Mr. Pasha with a copy of the September 22 report; accordingly, the related issues are moot per 40 KAR 1:030, Section 6, and this office must respectfully decline to render a decision regarding that record.

KSR belatedly invoked KRS 197.025(1), incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(l), in withholding the September 1 report as disclosure would pose a threat to security because it "contains information and details that would enable Mr. Pasha to identify confidential informants." As in 11-ORD-186, this office concludes that 11-ORD-175, a recent decision affirming the final disposition by KSR of a nearly identical request by Mr. Pasha on the basis of KRS 197.025(1), is controlling on the facts presented. A copy of each decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference.

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.

Distributed to:

Uriah Pasha, # 092028Marc AbeloveAmber Arnett

LLM Summary

The decision addresses an appeal by Uriah Pasha regarding the Kentucky State Reformatory's (KSR) denial of his request for reports complaining about his actions. KSR initially denied the request citing multiple exemptions without detailed explanation but later provided one of the reports after the disciplinary investigation concluded, rendering the issue moot. For the remaining report, KSR cited KRS 197.025(1), claiming it would compromise security by revealing confidential informants. The decision follows previous rulings (11-ORD-186 and 11-ORD-175) in affirming KSR's decision to withhold the report based on the security exemption.

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