Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear, Attorney General; J. Marcus Jones, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Little Sandy Correctional Complex ("LSCC") violated the Kentucky Open Records Act when it denied Uriah M. Pasha's request for copies of an LSCC Operational Schedule and a copy of an LSCC Captain's Office Log. For the reasons stated below, we find no violation of the Act.
On January 25, 2018, inmate Uriah M. Pasha submitted a Request to Inspect Public Records form to LSCC. Mr. Pasha submitted the request, seeking a copy of the LSCC Operational Schedule and LSCC Captain's Office Log. The request was specifically for the Operational Schedule pertinent to January 10, 2018 and the Captain's Log recording the release times for F Dorm on January 10, 2018 at the 8:00 a.m. hour. Mr. Pasha attached a copy of a Disciplinary Report Form to the open records request. The disciplinary write-up was issued against Mr. Pasha regarding an incident that took place on January 10, 2018.
Ms. Beth Harper of the LSCC Records Department responded to Mr. Pasha's open records request on January 24, 2018. Ms. Harper informed Mr. Pasha that the request was denied per KRS 197.025(2) 1 , incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(1). 2 Ms. Harper explained that "[s]ince the record you request does not contain a specific reference to you, the record is exempt from disclosure to you under KRS 61.878(1)(1) and KRS 197.025(2)." She closed the response by specifically stating that "[t]he LSCC Operational Schedule and the Captain's Office Log regarding F Dorm and normal operations do not specifically reference you." Mr. Pasha appealed the denial.
Amy V. Barker, Assistant General Counsel, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, responded on behalf of LSCC by letter dated February 2, 2018. Ms. Barker notes that Mr. Pasha is incarcerated at LSCC, and the facility response denied his record request because neither record contained a specific reference to inmate Pasha. Ms. Barker also stated that the Captain's Office Log and operational schedule "are not the type of records in which a reference is made to a specific inmate. " On February 8, 2018, this Office requested additional documentation for substantiation, pursuant to authority granted to the Attorney General in KRS 61.880(2)(c). In response, Ms. Barker provided copies of the LSCC Operational Schedule and LSCC Captain's Office Log requested by Mr. Pasha.
The records exception under KRS 197.025(2) allowed LSCC to deny Mr. Pasha's request for LSCC Operational Schedule and Captain's Office Log. The statute states that the department shall not be required to comply with a request for any record from any inmate "unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to that individual." We interpret this provision to require that the inmate be specifically referenced by name in the requested document. 14-ORD-224; 09-ORD-057.
LSCC correctly interpreted KRS 197.025 as an exception to the documents requested by Mr. Pasha. The LSCC Operational Schedule is a document that lists the times in which staff shall perform duties and assignments, such as pill counts or opening of showers to inmates. The operational schedule is not a document in which staff would reference an inmate by name or institutional number. The Captain's Log for F Dorm dated January 10, 2018 lists specific duties and events, and records the time in which the assignments were completed. The document does not reference any inmate by name. It is apparent that Mr. Pasha expects to find exculpatory information for the disciplinary write-up in these documents. However, the fact that the documents may reference Mr. Pasha's dorm is not "a specific reference to that individual" for purposes of the statutory requirement. This office has consistently found that a general or implied reference to an inmate is not a "specific reference" to overcome the exemption. See 04-ORD-086 (finding that a letter referencing "[m]y cube mate" was not a "specific reference" within the meaning of KRS 197.025(2) ). Accordingly, we find that LSCC did not violate the Open Records Act by denying these requests.
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.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 197.025(2) states: "KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, the department shall not be required to comply with a request for any record from any inmate confined in a jail or any facility or any individual on active supervision under the jurisdiction of the department, unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to that individual."
2 KRS 61.872(1)(1) exempts from the Open Records Act: "Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly."