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Opinion

Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; James M. Herrick, 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 the Marion Adjustment Center did not violate the Open Records Act in denying inmate Jerry L. Nunn's November 1, 2009, requests for an employee "seniority list" and for copies of "camera footage from certain cameras." Relying on KRS 197.025(2), 1 the Marion Adjustment Center explained that none of the requested records were "specific to you" or had a "specific reference to you," 2 and that he was 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. 3 Copies of these open records decisions are attached and hereby adopted as the basis for our decision in the present appeal. We find no error in the Marion Adjustment Center's denial of Mr. Nunn'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.

Jerry L. Nunn, # 201994 E206ACole Carter, Esq.Daniel AkersAmy V. Barker, Esq.

Footnotes

Footnotes

1 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.

2 Alternatively, the Marion Adjustment Center invokedKRS 197.025(1), which provides:

KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, no person shall have access to any records if the disclosure is deemed by the commissioner of the department or his designee to constitute a threat to the security of the inmate, any other inmate, correctional staff, the institution, or any other person.

Because we affirm the Marion Adjustment Center's denial of Mr. Nunn's request on the basis of KRS 197.025(2), we do not address the agency's alternative argument.

3 Although CCA, which operates the Marion Adjustment Center, is a private corporation, KRS 197.025(2) applies to it no less than to the Department of Corrections. 04-ORD-205.

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LLM Summary
The decision affirms the Marion Adjustment Center's denial of inmate Jerry L. Nunn's request for an employee 'seniority list' and camera footage, based on KRS 197.025(2) which limits inmate access to records not specifically referencing them. The decision relies on previous open records decisions 03-ORD-150 and 09-ORD-057, which are directly applicable to the issues in this case, and references 04-ORD-205 to clarify the applicability of the statutory provision to private entities managing correctional facilities.
Disclaimer:
The Sunshine Law Library is not exhaustive and may contain errors from source documents or the import process. Nothing on this website should be taken as legal advice. It is always best to consult with primary sources and appropriate counsel before taking any action.
Requested By:
Jerry L. Nunn
Agency:
Marion Adjustment Center
Type:
Open Records Decision
Lexis Citation:
2009 Ky. AG LEXIS 246
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