Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Matt James, 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 Jason Cline's ("Cline") appeal from the Kentucky State Reformatory's ("KSR") denials of his requests for records are time-barred. Cline submitted an open records request to KSR on Apr. 9, 2014, requesting a "copy of my PREA investigation report." KSR denied that request on Apr. 10, 2014. Cline submitted another request to KSR on Apr. 14, 2014, requesting "the outcome of the investigation (PREA)." KSR denied that request on Apr. 16, 2014. Cline appealed the denials of those requests on June 17, 2014. 1 KRS 197.025(3) provides that "all persons confined in a penal facility shall challenge any denial of an open record with the Attorney General . . . within twenty (20) days of the denial . . . before an appeal can be filed in a Circuit Court." Cline did not appeal the denial of his requests before the statutorily mandated deadline expired. We must therefore decline jurisdiction. 12-ORD-072; 07-ORD-058.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5)(a). The Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or any subsequent proceedings.
Distributed to:
Jason Cline # 256448Samantha RashAmy V. Barker
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 Subsequent to Cline's appeal, KSR determined on July 3, 2014 that "three pages responsive to your request for the PREA investigation report (December 21, 2013) will be provided upon receipt of $ 0.30 ($ 0.30 for copies) in accordance with KRS 61."