Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether Johnson Circuit Court Clerk Vicki Rice violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to respond upon receipt of John B. Preston's request for a copy of various records that he attached to post-conviction motions related to indictment no. 4824 that he filed during September 1999 and October 2004. Because records in the custody of circuit court clerks are properly characterized as court records to which the Open Records Act does not apply, the Attorney General has consistently recognized that circuit court clerks are not subject to the provisions of the Open Records Act. Accordingly, the Johnson Circuit Court Clerk did not violate the Act in failing to respond in writing upon receipt of Mr. Preston's request as otherwise required by KRS 61.880(1). In our view, 98-ORD-6, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is 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.