Request By:
Antonio D. O'Neal, # 381491
Terri A. Geraghty
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 Louisville Metro Department of Corrections did not violate the Open Records Act in denying Antonio D. O'Neal's undated request for LMDC policies and a record identified as the "government contracted medical dept. list." 1 Relying on KRS 197.025(2), 2 incorporated into the Open Records Act by KRS 61.878(1)(l), 3 LMDC explained that none of the requested records "contain a specific reference to Mr. O'Neal as required by the language of KRS 197.025(2)," 4 and that he is therefore foreclosed from inspecting them. We agree with this analysis and find that 03-ORD-150 and 09-ORD-057 are dispositive of the issue on appeal. Copies of these open records decisions are attached hereto and incorporated by reference. We find no error in LMDC's denial of Mr. O'Neal's 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.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 LMDC has no record of receipt of this request.
2 KRS 197.025(2) provides:
KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, the department shall not be required to comply with a request for any record from any inmate confined in a jail or any facility or any individual on active supervision under the jurisdiction of the department, unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to that individual.
3 KRS 61.878(1)(l) authorizes public agencies to withhold:
Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly;
4 Alternatively, LMDC invokedKRS 197.025(6) which provides:
The policies and procedures or administrative regulations of the department which address the security and control of inmates and penitentiaries shall not be accessible to the public or inmates. The Administrative Regulations Review Subcommittee's review process for any of these policies and procedures or administrative regulations, which may be filed with the regulations compiler, shall be conducted in closed sessions and held confidential.
Because we affirm LMDC's denial of Mr. O'Neal's request on the basis of KRS 197.025(2), we do not address the agency's alternative argument.