Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, 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 as an agency of the courts, Ohio County Pretrial Services is not governed on the provisions of the Open Records Act and therefore did not violate the Act in the disposition of James David Adkins' October 22, 2008, request for copies of all records that pertain to him including, but not limited to, "all ROR, Home Incarceration, ROR for medical, terms and conditions of release, pre-interview materials from the date of Jan. 01, 2005, to present." It is the decision of this office that 98-ORD-6, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling. Under the rule announced in Ex parte Farley, 570 S.W.2d 617 (Ky. 1978), and codified at KRS 26A.200, all records that are made by or generated for or received by any other court, agency, or officer responsible to the Court, are the property of the Court and are subject to the Court's control.
By letter dated November 14, 2008, Administrative Office of the Courts Deputy General Counsel Lee A. Guice notified Mr. Adkins that his earlier request had not reached Ohio County Pretrial Services. Ms. Guice indicated that the requested records would be released to him upon return of a signed waiver which had been mailed to him. Although not statutorily obligated to do so, Pretrial Services agreed to honor Mr. Adkins' request.
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.