Request By:
Mark D. Baize
Gaynell Allen
Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Ohio Circuit Court Clerk violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to respond upon receipt of Mark D. Baize's request dated December 13, 2007. 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), the Attorney General has consistently recognized that circuit court clerks are not subject to the provisions of the Open Records Act. Consequently, the Ohio Circuit Court Clerk cannot be said to have violated the Act in failing to respond upon receipt of Mr. Baize's request as would otherwise be 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.