Opinion
Opinion By: Daniel Cameron,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
On or about February 18, 2020, NTC inmate Anthony Sadler ("Appellant") attempted to submit a written request to inspect his medical records. He initiated this appeal after receiving no response by March 26, 2020, but NTC notified Appellant that it had never received his request and advised him of the proper manner by which to submit an open records request.
Under KRS 197.025(7), a correctional institution has five business days to respond to an open records request. When a person appeals a public agency's disposition of the request, the public agency carries "[t]he burden of proof in sustaining the action[.]" KRS 61.880(2)(c). Here, NTC provided a written statement from its records custodian stating that she searched the pertinent files and could not locate a request form from Appellant. Thus, NTC has carried its burden of proof that it did not respond to Appellant's request because it did not receive it.
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.