20-ORD-140 | KOGC

Opinion

Opinion By: Daniel Cameron,Attorney General;Marc Manley,Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Decision

On July 15, 2020, Ben Richard ("Appellant") submitted a request to the Clerk for inspection of public records. He subsequently appealed to this Office after receiving no response. Although the Attorney General is statutorily charged with the duty to resolve disputes concerning records access under KRS 61.880(2), the Act is not binding on the judicial branch. Ex parte Farley , 570 S.W.2d 617 (Ky. 1978). Since circuit court clerks are court officials, the Clerk is not bound by the provisions of the Act and cannot be held to have violated the Act by failing to respond to an open records request. See 98-ORD-6 (copy attached).

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.

LLM Summary

The decision addresses an appeal by Ben Richard regarding a lack of response to his open records request submitted to the Clerk. The Attorney General's decision explains that circuit court clerks are part of the judicial branch and are not subject to the Kentucky Open Records Act. Therefore, the Clerk did not violate the Act by not responding to the request. The decision cites 98-ORD-006 to affirm that judicial officials are exempt from the Act's provisions.

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