20-ORD-080 | KOGC

Opinion

Opinion By: Daniel Cameron,Attorney General;Marc Manley,Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Decision

James Harrison ("Appellant") mailed a request for records to the Center seeking copies of records relating to an attorney's previous visit to the Center. Appellant suggested that the Center's visitation log would contain the requested information. The Center responded and denied the request pursuant to KRS 197.025(2), stating that it located and reviewed responsive records, but the records did not contain a specific reference to Appellant. 1After the Center denied Appellant's request to reconsider, Appellant initiated this appeal.

Under KRS 197.025(2), a correctional facility "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." According to the plain text of the statute, an inmate is not entitled to any record that does not contain a specific reference to him. The fact that Appellant requested the records from a local jail, rather than a state penitentiary, is immaterial. See e.g. , 03-ORD-074 (holding that local jails may also rely on KRS 197.025(2) to deny an inmate's request for records that do not contain a specific reference to the requesting inmate.) Appellant is an inmate at Green River Correctional Complex, which is a "facility . . . under the jurisdiction of the department." KRS 197.025(2). On appeal, the Center states that the responsive records are a visitor's log that does not refer to Appellant, and a copy of the driver's license of the visiting attorney. Because neither record specifically refers to Appellant, the Center properly denied the request and did not violate the Act.

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 The Center also asserted another exception in its denial. Because the Center's reliance on KRS 197.025(2) is dispositive, this Office declines to address the Center's alternative reason for denying the records.

LLM Summary

The decision addresses an appeal by an inmate who requested records from a correctional center. The center denied the request based on KRS 197.025(2), which states that a correctional facility need not comply with a record request from an inmate unless the record specifically refers to that individual. The decision cites 03-ORD-074 to affirm that local jails are also covered by this statute and can deny requests under the same conditions. The Attorney General upheld the denial of the request, agreeing that the records, which did not specifically refer to the appellant, were rightfully withheld.

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