Request By:
Stuart E. Lampe, Esq.
Chairman, Board of Bar Examiners
Lexington Building
201-215 West Short Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Mr. Michael L. Meeks has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of his request to inspect certain records. He has described the records as documents pertaining to the Kentucky Bar Examination which reveal the name, school, year of examination and test results of all black examinees taking the Kentucky Bar Examination since 1970.
You replied to Mr. Meeks in a letter dated December 7, 1984 and said that because there is no public record of the information he sought, you had no choice but to deny his request. You also said that in order to avoid any possible discrimination involving races, sexes and color, no record is kept as to a candidate's race, sex and color. Each person taking the examination is assigned a number and the grader of the examination knows nothing about the candidate other than his number. Your records would not disclose the information requested even if you decided to seek it yourself.
In his letter of appeal to this Office, dated December 17, 1984 and received December 19, 1984, Mr. Meeks alleges that the requested information or documents are in the possession of the Board of Bar Examiners; that they are easily ascertainable; that they are statistical data which do not identify any examinee; that they are not exempt under federal or state law; that your reason for denying the request is insufficient; and, that the documents and information requested should be made available for inspection.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that the Open Records Law does not apply to the information or documents at issue on this appeal.
KRS 61.878(1)(j) exempts from public inspection, "Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly." As we said in OAG 79-174, copy enclosed, court records are given a special status and placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice pursuant to KRS 26A.200 and KRS 26A.220. These statutes apply to all records of agencies of the court and the Board of Bar Examiners is an agency of the court as it is created and supervised by the Supreme Court. See Rules of the Supreme Court, Rule 2.000. If a court or an agency of the court denies access to a record, the requesting party should take his appeal to the Chief Justice.
In Ex parte Farley, Ky., 570 S.W.2d 617 (1978), the court said in part at page 624 of its opinion:
"On its face, the Open Records Law, KRS 61.870 - 61.884, incl. (Ch. 273, Acts of 1976), appears to apply. Whether its provisions conflict with or are harmonious with KRS 26A.200 - 26A.220, incl. (Ch. 22, Acts of 1976 Ex. Sess.), we need not decide, because we are firmly of the opinion that the custody and control of the records generated by the courts generated by the courts in the course of their work are inseparable from the judicial function itself, and are not subject to statutory regulation. "
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that since the custody and control of the records of the Board of Bar Examiners are not subject to statutory regulation, the requesting party should contact the Court of Justice for information relative to a consistent policy of handling records of the Board of Bar Examiners. Mr. Meeks is so advised by being sent a copy of this opinion as required by statute and he has the right to challenge the opinion in court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).