Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Kenton Circuit Court Clerk violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to respond upon receipt of Steven Stewart's June 21, 2010, request for "Case No. 05-CR-27, Chain of Custody [r]ecords concerning DNA Evidence to include [c]ourt [o]rders to transfer evidence to the Kentucky State Crime Laboratory as well as private criminal [l]aboratories." By letter dated June 29, 2010, Mr. Stewart initiated this appeal. 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 long recognized that circuit court clerks are not subject to the provisions of the Open Records Act. Consequently, the Kenton Circuit Court Clerk cannot be said to have violated the Act in failing to respond upon receipt of Mr. Stewart's request although such inaction would otherwise constitute a violation of 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. "Simply stated, disputes relating to access to court records must be resolved by the court." 98-ORD-6, p. 2.
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.
Steven Stewart, # 187744John C. Middleton