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 John Buckley's appeal from the Kentucky State Penitentiary's alleged denial of his request for telephone records of calls made by him is time-barred. Mr. Buckley submitted three essentially identical requests for records of phone calls made by him since May 6, 2014; these requests were made on July 16, July 22, and August 7, 2014. The July 16 request was denied on July 21, 2014. The statutory deadline for initiating an appeal of that denial expired prior to August 12, 2014.
Mr. Buckley's appeal, though undated, contains an attachment dated August 12, 2014, which conclusively establishes that it was not sent before that date. The appeal was received in this office on September 4, 2014. KRS 197.025(3) clearly states:
KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, all persons confined in a penal facility shall challenge any denial of an open record with the Attorney General by mailing or otherwise sending the appropriate documents to the Attorney General within twenty (20) days of the denial pursuant to the procedures set out in KRS 61.880(2) before an appeal can be filed in a Circuit Court.
Mr. Buckley cannot circumvent the twenty-day deadline set forth in KRS 197.025(3) by resubmitting the same request. He did not initiate an appeal of the denial of his first request for the phone records before the statutory deadline expired. We must therefore decline jurisdiction. See 14-ORD-076.
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.