Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, 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 attorney Ned Pillersdorf did not violate provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 in the disposition of Carroll Paul Jackson's December 15, 2012, request to inspect the files in Case Number 08-CR-0094 and Case Number DI-08-F-00104. It is the decision of this office that 01-ORD-24, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, governs resolution of the issue on appeal. Accord, 05-ORD-020; 08-ORD-159; compare, 01-ORD-86 (addressing access to client files in the custody of the public defender). Mr. Jackson offers no proof that Mr. Pillersdorf is a "public agency," within the meaning of KRS 61.870(1), or that the records he maintains in the private practice of law are "public records," within the meaning of KRS 61.870(2). Because he is not subject to the provisions of the Open Records Act, Mr. Pillersdorf cannot be said to have violated the Act in failing to respond to Mr. Jackson's request. 1
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:
Carroll Paul Jackson, # 230572Ned Pillersdorf
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 On a number of occasions, the Attorney General has recognized that the Rule of Professional Conduct for attorneys licensed to practice law in Kentucky govern an attorney's duty to produce a former client's file. SCR 3:130(1.16)(d). See authorities cited above.