Oddly reassuring to share this story about WDRB's open records appeal of an attorney general's decision to the Jefferson Circuit Court.

Open records litigation goes on in the time of coronavirus.

In February, the attorney general issued a split decision to WDRB in a case involving access to records "related to a Professional Standards Unit investigation into alleged activity at a retirement party purportedly held on LMPD grounds."

https://ag.ky.gov/Priorities/Government-Transparency/orom/2020/20-ORD-0…

WDRB's appeal focuses on the attorney general's departure from a line of prior open records decisions recognizing the public's right of access to the names of public employees, including police officers, accused of misconduct.

Disclosure is required even if those accusations are ultimately deemed unsubstantiated to enable the public to confirm that the investigation was thorough, that the discipline imposed — or not imposed — was appropriate, and that there was no favoritism or bias.

In this case, descriptions of the retirement party widely differ as do allegations that witnesses were threatened with retaliation if they cooperated in the investigation.

WDRB's appeal will likely reaffirm long-standing legal interpretation, dating back to the early eighties, and ensure that the attorney general does not persist in this flawed interpretation.