A swift and favorable ruling for WDRB in the open records lawsuit filed against it by the Kentucky State Police.

KSP sued the news organization after it received a decision from the attorney general's open records staff affirming its right of access to the investigative files relating to police misconduct associated with the June 2016 arrest of 68 year old Lewis Lyttle at the Harlan Appalachian Regional Hospital.

On June 21, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate issued an opinion in which he declared that he could not "fathom" how KSP continued to resist disclosure of the file.

He focused on on the fact that the records in the file — which KSP argued were created for administrative purposes and exempt from public inspection as "preliminary" documents — were used by Commissioner Richard Sanders In imposing discipline on the troopers.

The records thereafter forfeited their "preliminary" characterization and were open to public inspection.

This position is consistent with years of judicial interpretation of the preliminary documents exceptions and reflected in an abundance of open records decisions dealing with internal affairs investigative files which KSP has elected to defy.

Again, Judge Wingate indicated that he would entertain a motion by WDRB to recover its attorneys' fees incurred in defending KSP's lawsuit.

On June 19, KSP asked that Judge Wingate delay ruling in this case until the Court of Appeals rules in KSP's appeal of an open records case involving the same issue but arising from a separate incident of police misconduct.

The judge rejected KSP's request and issued his ruling on June 21.

Do NOT be surprised to see a post within the next 30 days announcing that KSP has appealed Friday's ruling to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.