Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;Amye L. Bensenhaver,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 McCracken Circuit Court Clerk is not bound by, and therefore did not violate, the Open Records Act in the disposition of William Mountlouis's March 8, 2016, request for a copy of his marriage license and information relating to his wife's last known address. Mr. Mountlouis initiated this appeal on March 22, 2016.
The McCracken Circuit Court Clerk makes multiple persuasive arguments supporting her actions. We focus on her argument in chief. That argument is based on the Kentucky Supreme Court's opinion in Ex parte Farley, 570 S.W.2d 617 (Ky. 1978), recognizing that "the custody and control of the records generated by the courts in the course of their work are inseparable from the judicial function itself and are not subject to statutory regulation," including the Open Records Act. Farley at 570 S.W.2d at 624; accord, York v. Commonwealth, 815 S.W.2d 415 (Ky. App. 1991); see also, KRS 26A.200 ("all records which are made by or generated for or received by any agency of the Court of Justice, or by any other Court, agency, or officer responsible to the Court, are the property of the Court, and are subject to the control of the Supreme Court"); KRS 26A.220 ("All public officers, public agencies, or other persons having custody, control, or possession of court records by statute or otherwise shall be subject to the direction of the Supreme Court with regard to such records and no such officer, agency, or person shall fail to comply with any rule, regulation, standard, procedure, or order issued by the Chief Justice or his designee"). These statutes, along with the referenced cases, firmly establish the right of the Court to regulate its own records and records made by or generated for its agencies. The McCracken Circuit Court Clerk is not bound by, and cannot be said to have violated, the Open Records Act in the disposition of Mr. Mountlouis's request.
As a matter of comity, the Circuit Court Clerk advised Mr. Mountlouis that it is not "the keeper of records relating to marriage licenses," explaining that the McCracken County Clerk is, instead, the custodian of those records. The County Clerk's records are governed by the Kentucky Open Records Act, and Mr. Mountlouis can access nonexempt public records , as opposed to information such as his wife's last known address, from the County Clerk upon prepayment of reasonable copying fees and postage.
Either party may appeal this decision 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.