Opinion
Opinion By: Chris Gorman, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
OPEN RECORDS DECISION
This matter comes to the Attorney General as an attempted appeal by David Brantley relative to the actions, or more appropriately the alleged inaction, of the Franklin County Regional Jail and the Franklin County Circuit Clerk's Office.
In a letter to this Office, received October 14, 1993, Mr. Brantley responded to a letter from this Office, dated October 8, 1993, where he was advised that if he desired to appeal he needed to submit to this Office a letter of appeal and copies of his requests for documents to the public agencies.
Mr. Brantley stated, in part in his letter received October 14, 1993, that he does not have any additional copies of the requests for documents he submitted to the Franklin County Regional Jail and the "Frankfort Court House" which we construe to mean the Franklin County Circuit Clerk's Office. He, therefore, cannot file an appeal in the format required by the statutes.
Although the alleged appeal has not been filed in the manner required by the statutes, this Office will consider what we perceive the issues to be and render a decision.
Mr. Brantley alleges that neither the Franklin County Regional Jail nor the Franklin County Circuit Clerk's Office have responded to his requests for copies of documents.
The undersigned Assistant Attorney General on October 25, 1993, contacted the Franklin County Regional Jail by telephone and spoke with Ms. Adele Hay concerning a request for documents submitted by David Brantley. Ms. Hay advised, after checking the appropriate sources and places, that the Franklin County Regional Jail has no record of having received a request for documents from David Brantley.
A public agency obviously cannot respond to a request for documents which it has not received. Since this office has no reason to doubt the truth and veracity of Ms. Hay's statement relative to the non-receipt of the request for documents, we must conclude that the Franklin County Regional Jail has not violated the terms and provisions of the Open Records Act. Mr. Brantley will have to reinitiate his request for documents under the Open Records Act with the Franklin County Regional Jail relative to the papers and materials with which he is concerned. KRS 61.870 to KRS 61.884.
Mr. Brantley further alleges that his request for documents mailed to the Franklin County Circuit Clerk's Office, has not been answered. While this Office does not know what happened to that request, we can only respond by stating that such a request is not subject to the terms and provisions of the Open Records Act. The cases of Ex Parte Farley, Ky., 570 S.W.2d 617, 624 (1978) and York v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 815 S.W.2d 415, 417 (1991) conclusively establish that "the custody and control of the records generated by the courts in the course of their work are inseparable from the judicial function itself, and are not subject to statutory regulation." See KRS 26A.200 and KRS 26A.220 as well as 93-ORD-27 and 92-ORD-1144.
Mr. Brantley may challenge this decision by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. The Attorney General shall be notified of any actions filed against the Franklin County Regional Jail or the Franklin County Circuit Clerk's Office pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), but he shall not be named as a party to these actions or in any subsequent proceedings.