Request By:
[NO REQUESTBY IN ORIGINAL]
Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
These matters, having been presented to the Attorney General in separate open records appeals but presenting identical questions of law, are consolidated for purposes of adjudication under KRS 61.880(2). It is the decision of this office that Kentucky State Penitentiary did not violate the Open Records Act in denying Uriah Marquis Pasha's August 12, 1999, requests for videotapes made on July 1, 1999, on July 20, 1999, and on July 26, 1999, of incidents involving Mr. Pasha. We believe that 95-ORD-105, a copy of which is attached hereto, and incorporated by reference, is controlling. Although the Open Records Act does not require it to do so, Kentucky State Penitentiary will permit Mr. Pasha to inspect the tapes, and if he is indigent, furnish him with free copies of the tapes, per governing institutional policy, upon proof that his requests are made in furtherance of ongoing litigation. With respect to the Open Records Act, we find that Kentucky State Penitentiary fully discharged its duties.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.