Opinion
Opinion By: Daniel Cameron, Attorney General; Marc Manley, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
Inmate Jeff Carpenter ("Appellant") claims that on December 30, 2020, he requested from the Penitentiary a copy of certain records. After receiving no response from the Penitentiary, the Appellant filed this appeal. On appeal, the Penitentiary asserts that it never received the Appellant's request.
An agency's obligations under the Act arise only after receipt of an actual request. KRS 61.872(5). And when a person appeals a public agency's disposition of a request to inspect records, the public agency carries "[t]he burden of proof in sustaining the action[.]" KRS 61.880(2)(c). Here, the Penitentiary states that it did not receive the Appellant's request dated December 30, 2020. However, the Penitentiary did receive two subsequent requests from Appellant requesting copies of the same documents. The Penitentiary provides copies of both those requests and the agency's corresponding responses. 1On this record, there is no basis to conclude that the Penitentiary violated the Act.
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 proceedings.
Footnotes
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