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 Knott County Coroner violated the Open Records Act in the disposition of Rachael Hill's November 5, 2013, request for "a copy of the medical examiner's report and toxicology report for the Christina Barnett case." For the reasons that follow, we find that the coroner both procedurally and substantively violated the Act.
Ms. Hill received no written response to her November 5 request. In her letter of appeal, received in this office on November 25, 2013, Ms. Hill states: "I contacted Mr. Blair [the coroner] on Thursday, Nov. 14 and he informed me that he had received the request. We still have not received a response." The coroner has made no response to this appeal in any form. We necessarily find that the coroner committed a procedural violation of KRS 61.880(1) by failing to provide a written response to Ms. Hill's request within three (3) business days.
Furthermore, KRS 61.880(1) requires a public agency to provide a written explanation of the legal basis for withholding any public records. As the Knott County Coroner never produced a written response of any kind, we therefore conclude that both procedural and substantive violations of the Open Records Act occurred. 13-ORD-206.
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.
Distributed to:
Ms. Rachael HillJeff Blair, CoronerTim Bates, Esq.