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 Kentucky State Reformatory did not violate the Open Records Act in denying inmate Leslie Lawson's August 17, 2011, request "[t]o view the logbook for the last 90 days concerning how many indigent inmates received the indigent legal supplies." Relying on KRS 197.025(2), 1 the Kentucky State Reformatory (KSR) explained that the requested record "does not contain a specific reference to you," and that he was therefore foreclosed from inspecting it. 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 and hereby adopted as the basis for our decision in the present appeal.
Mr. Lawson argues, in his appeal to this office dated August 29, 2011, that the log must contain a reference to him because he made a request for legal supplies within the relevant time period. He has provided a copy of a request form dated June 17, 2011, showing that he made such a request. For this reason, we requested a copy of the log sheet from KSR to examine pursuant to KRS 61.880(2)(c). Upon inspection, we find that it does not contain an entry referring to Mr. Lawson.
In a letter dated September 16, 2011, Assistant General Counsel Amy V. Barker, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, advises as follows:
KSR explained that it is the practice for the supplies to be listed on the log when distributed, but this did not occur when Mr. Lawson sought supplies in June. KSR reviewed its policies and the log is not required, but had been a general, though apparently imperfect, practice. KSR is currently reviewing the need for the log since the supply request forms exist.
Through some oversight, then, Mr. Lawson's request was evidently not recorded on the log. While we cannot condone the omission, the fact remains that the record in question does not contain a reference to Mr. Lawson, and therefore it is subject to the strictures of KRS 197.025(2). Accordingly, we find no error in KSR's denial of Mr. Lawson'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.
Distributed to:
Leslie Lawson, # 122950Marc AbeloveAmy 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.