Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;Gordon Slone,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC) violated the Kentucky Open Records Act when it denied Jeremy Williams' request for copies of all memorandums and policies posted for the general population. For the reasons stated below, we find that there was no violation of the Act.
On November 1, 2017, Mr. Williams submitted an Authorization and Release of Patient Information form to the EKCC medical department seeking "[a]ll memos and printouts in 2017 has or posted for general population. " Mr. Williams further stated that he was seeking "(From 2017) All memos and printouts medical has or posted for inmate population (especially June 2012 and 10-22-2015)." 1
Ms. Amanda Carter, Medical Records Secretary responded to Mr. Williams' open records request on November 2, 2017, by denying the request. She quoted the exemption stated in KRS 197.025(2) 2 as grounds for the denial, but did not specifically cite the statute. Her response further stated: "[p]lease be advised that the document(s) you requested are not part of your medical record and do not contain a specific reference to you."
Amy V. Barker, Assistant General Counsel, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, responded on behalf of EKCC by letter dated November 9, 2017. Ms. Barker first explained that Ms. Carter's denial was correct although she neglected to cite the statute. Ms. Barker also clarified that the "[m]emos posted by medical staff for inmates to view are not the type of record in which a reference is made to a specific inmate. " Ms. Barker notes that KRS 197.025(2) is incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(l). 3 She also cited numerous decisions by this office to support EKCC's denial on the basis of KRS 197.025(2).
The exemption of KRS 197.025(2) allowed EKCC to deny Mr. Williams' request for all memos and printouts posted to the general population. The statute states that the Department of Corrections shall not be required to comply with a request for any record "unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to that individual." We interpret the statutory provision as requiring a reference by name, and applying to the correctional facilities of the Department of Corrections as well as the Department itself. 14-ORD-224; 09-ORD-057. We have found that memos posted to the inmate population do not "contain a specific reference to" the requesting inmate for purposes of the KRS 197.025(2) exemption. See 03-ORD-073 (upholding denial of a memorandum posted to general population stating anyone with hepatitis cannot work on outside detail); 08-ORD-035 (upholding denial of a memorandum posted to general population regarding "TVS in Dorm 6"). Accordingly, we find that EKCC did not violate the Open Records Act by denying this request.
A party aggrieved by this decision shall 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 shall be notified of any action in circuit court, but shall not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.
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