Skip to main content

Request By:
Joshua Brandon, # 203902
Christopher T. Cohron, Esq.

Opinion

Opinion By: Daniel Cameron,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Decision

On February 22, 2022, Joshua Brandon ("Appellant") requested that the Commonwealth's Attorney provide a copy of the discovery materials in a case in which the Appellant was the defendant. The Commonwealth's Attorney denied the Appellant's request on the grounds that the requested records were records pertaining to criminal litigation, which are exempt under KRS 61.878(1)(h). This appeal followed.

Under KRS 61.878(1)(h), "records or information compiled and maintained by county attorneys or Commonwealth's attorneys pertaining to criminal investigations or criminal litigation shall be exempted from the provisions of [the Act] and shall remain exempted after enforcement action, including litigation, is completed or a decision is made to take no action." The Appellant argues that he should be entitled to the records because they are not "someone else's discovery" but his own. The Act, however, makes no such distinction. 1 See, e.g. , 17-ORD-061 (upholding a Commonwealth Attorney's denial of pretrial discovery request under KRS 61.878(1)(h)). Accordingly, the Commonwealth's Attorney did not violate the Act when he denied the Appellant's request for criminal litigation records under KRS 61.878(1)(h).

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 within 30 days from the date of this decision. 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. The Attorney General will accept notice of the complaint e-mailed to OAGAppeals@ky.gov.

Footnotes

Footnotes

1 The Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure govern a criminal defendant's right to obtain pretrial discovery from the Commonwealth, not the Open Records Act. See RCr 7.24.

LLM Summary
The decision addresses an appeal by Joshua Brandon regarding the denial of his request for discovery materials by the Commonwealth's Attorney, citing the exemption under KRS 61.878(1)(h) for records related to criminal litigation. The Attorney General upheld the denial, referencing 17-ORD-061 to affirm that such records are exempt from disclosure under the Open Records Act. The decision clarifies that the Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure, not the Open Records Act, govern a criminal defendant's right to pretrial discovery.
Disclaimer:
The Sunshine Law Library is not exhaustive and may contain errors from source documents or the import process. Nothing on this website should be taken as legal advice. It is always best to consult with primary sources and appropriate counsel before taking any action.
Requested By:
Joshua Brandon
Agency:
Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney
Type:
Open Records Decision
Lexis Citation:
2022 KY. AG LEXIS 67
Cites:
Forward Citations:
Neighbors

Support Our Work

The Coalition needs your help in safeguarding Kentuckian's right to know about their government.