Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Whitley County Sheriff violated the Open Records Act in the disposition of Dolly Bunch's March 22, 2010, request for "a copy of a police report on the death of my son, James S Bunch, which occurred on June 21, 2005." For the reasons that follow, we find that the Sheriff both procedurally and substantively violated the Act.
Ms. Bunch initiated this appeal on May 6, 2010, attaching the certified mail return receipt from the sheriff's office dated April 1, 2010, and advising that she had received no response to her request. The sheriff and the Whitley County Attorney were officially notified of this appeal on May 11, 2010, with instructions that any response to the appeal must be received no later than Monday, May 17, 2010. No response was received by this office.
On May 27, 2010, this office contacted Whitley County Attorney Paul Winchester to inquire whether any response would be forthcoming. Mr. Winchester stated that he thought the police report had been provided to Ms. Bunch and that he would send this office a copy of the transmittal letter. No such letter was provided to this office, and subsequent telephone messages left for Mr. Winchester have not been answered.
In view of the fact that at no time has the Whitley County Sheriff asserted the applicability of any exceptions to the Open Records Act, and there being no documentation in the record to show that the police report was ever sent to Ms. Bunch, we are forced to conclude that the sheriff violated KRS 61.872(1) by constructively denying inspection of the report. Furthermore, by failing to make any response to a written open records request, the sheriff committed a procedural violation of KRS 61.880(1).
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 proceedings.
Dolly BunchLawrence Hodge, SheriffPaul Winchester, Esq.