22-ORD-214
October 14, 2022
In re: Phillip Hamm/McCracken County Sheriff’s Office
Summary: The McCracken County Sheriff’s Office (“the Sheriff’s
Office”) violated the Open Records Act (“the Act”) when it failed to
respond to a request for records.
Open Records Decision
On September 7, 2022, Phillip Hamm (“Appellant”) submitted a request to the
Sheriff’s Office to inspect “use of force forms” related to a specific search. Having
received no response to his request by September 16, 2022, the Appellant initiated
this appeal.
Under KRS 61.880(1), upon receiving a request for records under the Act, a
public agency “shall determine within five (5) [business] days . . . after the receipt of
any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the
person making the request, within the five (5) day period, of its decision.” Here, the
Appellant claims to have submitted a request on September 7, but has never received
a response. The Sheriff’s Office carries the burden of justifying its actions,
KRS 61.880(2)(c), yet it did not respond to this Office’s notice of appeal. Thus, in the
absence of any explanation for why the Sheriff’s Office failed to respond to the
Appellant’s request within five business days, the Office finds the Sheriff’s Office
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 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.Daniel Cameron
Attorney General
s/ Marc Manley
Marc Manley
Assistant Attorney General
#352
Distributed to:
Phillip Hamm
Jana King
Ryan Norman
Sam Clymer