Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,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 Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex ("EKCC") properly relied on KRS 61.878(1)(a) and KRS 197.025(1) in redacting another inmate's medical information, date of birth, and security threat group information from records requested by inmate Matthias Carter on August 14, 2018. Therefore, we find no violation of the Open Records Act.
Mr. Carter requested a copy of "any Extraordinary Occurrence Report (EOR) and Occurrence Report generated in disciplinary report NO. DR#: RCC-2017-00668" and "the disciplinary appeal filed in this case." EKCC initially denied Mr. Carter's request on grounds that the records were maintained by another correctional facility. Subsequent to the filing of this appeal, however, EKCC has agreed to obtain the records and provide a copy to Mr. Carter, with the exception of the medical information, date of birth, and security threat group information of another inmate. EKCC relies upon KRS 61.878(1)(a) 1 and KRS 197.025(1).
"It is well recognized that a person's medical records and medical information is information in which a person has a privacy interest and the disclosure of records containing such information would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy." 06-ORD-209. We have likewise recognized another inmate's date of birth as subject to redaction under KRS 61.878(1)(a). 07-ORD-124. Therefore, we find no error in these redactions.
As for the other inmate's security threat group information, KRS 197.025(1) provides:
KRS 61.884 and 61.878 to the contrary notwithstanding, no person, including any inmate confined in a jail or any facility or any individual on active supervision under the jurisdiction of the department, shall have access to any records if the disclosure is deemed by the commissioner of the department or his designee to constitute a threat to the security of the inmate, any other inmate, correctional staff, the institution, or any other person.
KRS 197.025(1) affords the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections or his designee "broad, although not unfettered, discretion to deny inmates access to records the disclosure of which, in his view, represents a threat to institutional security." 96-ORD-179. We held in 16-ORD-070 (copy attached) that security threat group information was properly redacted from a transfer form. Since the same concerns expressed in that appeal would equally apply here, we adopt the reasoning in 16-ORD-070 as the basis of our decision on this issue. Under the facts presented, we find that EKCC has articulated a credible basis for withholding this information in the interest of security.
In previous appeals, we have declined to substitute our judgment for that of the facility or the Department of Corrections, and the present appeal presents no reason to depart from this approach. ( See 04-ORD-017 and authorities cited therein.) Consistent with the foregoing precedent, we conclude that EKCC did not violate the Open Records Act in redacting security threat group information on the basis of KRS 197.025(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 shall be notified of any action in circuit court, but shall not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding. 180:
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 61.878(1)(a) excludes from the Open Records Act "[p]ublic records containing information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."