Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether David Zorin violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to issue a timely written response upon receipt of the request submitted by his former client, Jonas Snow, for "any and all information that deals with my case, this includes your notes, tapes, transcripts, etc. especially anything concerning proof that I'm entitled to my jail time credit." As a private attorney, Mr. Zorin does not fall within the definition of "public agency" codified at KRS 6.1870(1), nor can the records being sought be properly characterized as "public records" which are open for inspection under KRS 61.870(2) since the records are not "prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by a public agency." On this question, 01-ORD-140 and 05-ORD-249 are controlling; a copy of each decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. Although Mr. Zorin may be obligated to produce any records which are responsive to Mr. Snow's request per the Rules of Professional Conduct governing attorneys licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, his failure to do so does not constitute a violation of the Open Records Act. 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 proceeding.
Distributed to:
Jonas Snow, # 243650David Zorin
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 SCR 3.130(1.16)(d) provides:
Upon termination of representation, a lawyer shall take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client's interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee that has not been earned.
See also Kentucky Bar Association v. G. William Blackburn, 883 S.W.2d 877 (Ky. 1994) and Kentucky Bar Association v. Perry, 102 S.W.3d 507 (Ky. 2003).