23-ORD-114
May 30, 2023
In re: Alastair Couch/Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney
Summary: This Office cannot find that the Fayette County
Commonwealth’s Attorney (the “Commonwealth’s Attorney”) violated
the Open Records Act (“the Act”) when she did not respond to a request
she did not receive.
Open Records Decision
Inmate Alastair Couch (“Appellant”) claims he submitted a request on March
22, 2023, to the Commonwealth’s Attorney for a copy of all emails she sent or received
related to the Appellant’s criminal case. On April 27, 2023, having received no
response from the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Appellant initiated this appeal.
On appeal, the Commonwealth’s Attorney claims she did not receive the
request until May 1, 2023, when she received notice of this appeal. Upon receiving a
request to inspect records, a public agency must decide within five business days
whether to grant the request or deny it. KRS 61.880(1). Here, the Commonwealth’s
Attorney claims she did not receive the Appellant’s request until May 1, 2023, when
she received a copy of the request that was included with the notice of appeal. Thus,
the statutory period for the Commonwealth’s Attorney to issue a response to the
Appellant’s request did not begin until May 1, 2023. The Commonwealth Attorney
then issued her response on May 3, 2023, within five business days of receiving the
request.1 The Office has routinely found it is unable to resolve factual disputes
1
In her response, the Commonwealth’s Attorney denied the Appellant’s request under
KRS 61.878(h), which exempts from inspection “records or information compiled and maintained by
county attorneys or Commonwealth's attorneys pertaining to criminal investigations or criminalbetween a requester and a public agency, such as whether an agency received a
request to inspect records. See, e.g., 23-ORD-092; 23-ORD-071; 23-ORD-005; 22-ORD-
216; 22-ORD-148; 22-ORD-125; 22-ORD-100; 22-ORD-051; 21-ORD-163. Therefore,
this Office cannot find that the Commonwealth’s Attorney violated the Act.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the
appropriate circuit court under KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882 within 30 days from
the date of this decision. Under 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
emailed to OAGAppeals@ky.gov.
Daniel Cameron
Attorney General
s/ Matthew Ray
Matthew Ray
Assistant Attorney General
#166
Distributed to:
Alastair Couch #247390
Kimberly Henderson Baird
litigation” The Appellant has not contested the Commonwealth Attorney’s denial under
KRS 61.878(h).