Request By:
Christopher W. Johnson, Esq.
Legal Office
Kentucky State Police
919 Versailles Road
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Mrs. Gladys Blackburn has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of her request to inspect various documents in the possession of the Kentucky State Police.
In a letter you received January 28, 1988, Mrs. Blackburn acknowledged the receipt of the state police report relative to her son's death. She referred to several documents which had been withheld from her inspection including notes taken from the victim's car.
You replied to Mrs. Blackburn in a letter dated February 9, 1988. You advised her that the notes retrieved from her son's vehicle are not in any way related to his death. Those notes appear to be a list of music and the names of two acquaintances. The State Police declined to release the names of those persons and you cited KRS 61.878(1)(a) in support of that decision.
In her letter of appeal to this office Mrs. Blackburn referred, among other things, to the notes found in the vehicle and the refusal of the State Police to supply her with those documents. Apparently Mrs. Blackburn is specifically appealing from the decision of the State Police not to release copies of the documents found in the vehicle which consist of a list of music and the names of two acquaintances.
The undersigned Assistant Attorney General talked with you by telephone on February 25, 1988, and you subsequently supplied me with several documents, consisting of a memorandum which lists the attachments to the original state police report concerning Mrs. Blackburn's son and copies of the correspondence between Mrs. Blackburn and yourself. I again talked with you by telephone on February 29, 1988, and you advised that you would make available to Mrs. Blackburn a copy of the document containing the list of music.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Among the public documents which may be excluded from public inspection under the Open Records Act in the absence of a court order authorizing inspection are those materials described in KRS 61.878(1)(a) as, "Public records containing information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. "
In OAG 83-260, copy enclosed, at pages two and three, we said that the denial of a request to inspect a document mentioning the names of persons unconnected with the police investigation was proper pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(a) as a protection against an unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy. The identity of persons unrelated to any facet of the investigation need not be made known to the public. The right of privacy outweighs the public's need to know particularly when such persons were not involved in the police investigation.
That same opinion also cited KRS 17.150(2)(b) which provides:
Intelligence and investigative reports maintained by criminal justice agencies are subject to public inspection providing prosecution is completed or a determination not to prosecute has been made. However, portions of such records may be withheld from inspection if such inspection would disclose:
Information of a personal nature, the disclosure of which will not tend to advance a wholesome public interest or a legitimate private interest;
The opinion stated, "The disclosure of the identities and actions of these three persons unrelated to the police investigation does not appear to promote a wholesome public interest. "
If, in fact, Mrs. Blackburn's appeal relates to your refusal to disclose copies of the notes and observations made by the investigating state police detective, then your decision in that regard is supported by the exceptions to public inspection set forth in KRS 61.878(1)(g) and (h) which are discussed in OAG 86-60 and OAG 86-19, copies enclosed.
In conclusion, it is the opinion of the Attorney General that the refusal of the State Police to make available copies of documents setting forth the names of persons not connected with a police investigation is supported by the exceptions to public inspection set forth in KRS 61.878(1)(a) and KRS 17.150(2)(b).
As required by statute, a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requesting party, Mrs. Gladys Blackburn, who has the right to challenge it in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882.