Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;Amye L. Bensenhaver,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Office of the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that Blackburn Correctional Complex properly relied on KRS 61.878(1)(l), 1 incorporating KRS 439.510 2 into the Open Records Act, in denying Everett P. Norman's June 9, 2016, request to inspect his Presentence Investigation Report. 00-ORD-221 and 13-ORD-070 address the question of inmate access to the report, resolving the issue against the inmate. As these decisions demonstrate, KRS 439.510 establishes a privilege for "[a]ll information obtained in the discharge of official duty by any probation or parole officer . . ." directing that the information "shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to any person other than the court, board, cabinet, or others entitled under KRS 439.250 to 439.560 to receive such information . . . ." In
Commonwealth v. Bush, 740 S.W.2d 943 (Ky. 1987) the Kentucky Supreme Court interpreted this provision to apply to presentence investigative reports. These open records decisions, along with Bush, are enclosed in support of our conclusion.
Either party may appeal this decision 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[.]"
2 KRS 439.510 states:
All information obtained in the discharge of official duty by any probation or parole officer shall be privileged and shall not be received as evidence in any court. Such information shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to any person other than the court, board, cabinet, or others entitled under KRS 439.250 to 439.560 to receive such information, unless otherwise ordered by such court, board or cabinet. Information shall be made available to sex offender treatment programs operated or approved by the Department of Corrections or the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities who request the information in the course of conducting an evaluation or treatment pursuant to KRS 439.265(6), 532.045(3), or 532.050(4).