Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Bullitt County Circuit Court Clerk violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to respond upon receipt of John Simeon's request for "one copy of the Indictment and Final Judgment for a previous Bullitt Circuit felony case," Indictment Number 2003-CR-00227. Because records in the custody of circuit court clerks are properly characterized as court records, which are not governed by the Open Records Act, rather than public records within the meaning of KRS 61.870(2), this office has consistently recognized that circuit court clerks are not required to comply with provisions of the Open Records Act. Upon receiving notification of Mr. Simeon's appeal from this office, Clerk Layne Abell advised that Mr. Simeon was nevertheless provided with a copy of the requested documents; therefore, any issues raised by this appeal would otherwise be moot per 40 KAR 1:030, Section 6.
In our view, 98-ORD-6, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling on the facts presented. Because circuit court clerks are not governed by the Open Records Act, the Bullitt County Circuit Court Clerk cannot be said to have violated the Act in failing to respond upon receipt of Mr. Vanderford's request as otherwise required by KRS 61.880(1).
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.
John Simeon, # 184554Layne AbellBullitt County Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 746Sheperdsville, KY 40165-0746