Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that Iran Neal's November 3, 2004 appeal of Department of Corrections' August 11, 2004 denial of Mr. Neal's request for records related to his parole board interview and his preliminary revocation hearing is statutorily barred by operation of KRS 197.025(3), which requires inmates confined in penal facilities to initiate an appeal of any denial of an open record with the Attorney General within twenty days. 1 We believe that 03-ORD-007, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is dispositive of this matter. Some eighty-four days elapsed between the date on which the Department issued its denial and the date on which Mr. Neal initiated this appeal. His appeal is therefore untimely, and we are foreclosed from rendering a decision on the issues raised.
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.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 197.025(3) provides:
KRS 61.880 to the contrary notwithstanding, all persons confined in a penal facility shall challenge any denial of an open record with the Attorney General by mailing or otherwise sending the appropriate documents to the Attorney General within twenty (20) days of the denial pursuant to the procedures set out in KRS 61.880(2) before an appeal can be filed in a Circuit Court.