Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo,Attorney General;Michelle D. Harrison,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether George W. Moore, Commonwealth's Attorney, 21st Judicial Circuit (Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan Counties), violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in denying the request of Bradley Jones for copies of all records related to 03-CR-00132, 04-CR-00088, and 05-CR-00018, because such records are maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk of Montgomery County, with the exception of the Grand Jury Minutes, which are not transcribed but were previously provided to Mr. Jones via discovery. Upon receiving notification of Mr. Jones' appeal from this office, Mr. Moore explained that his office "does not maintain any original records of court proceedings in Kentucky, keeping only "our file copies which are often heavily annotated with privileged information."
Citing
Skaggs v. Redford, 844 S.W.2d 389, 391, Ky., (1992), Mr. Moore correctly observes that Mr. Jones' file is protected from disclosure until the criminal litigation against him is completed. In so doing, Mr. Moore implicitly relies upon KRS 61.878(1)(h), pursuant to which records or information compiled and maintained by Commonwealth's attorneys pertaining to criminal investigations or litigation, such as the records requested, are permanently excluded from application of the Open Records Act. Although Mr. Moore failed to cite the applicable statutory exception as mandated by KRS 61.880(1), his response is otherwise consistent with the Open Records Act. In our view, 00-ORD-116 and 04-ORD-153, copies of which are attached hereto and incorporated by reference, are controlling on the facts presented.
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.
Bradley Jones, # 185062Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex200 Road to JusticeWest Liberty, KY 41472
George W. MooreCommonwealth's Attorney, 21st Judicial Circuit33 N. Maysville Street, Suite 200Mt. Sterling, KY 40353