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23-ORD-303

November 13, 2023

In re: Jan D. Blythe/Franklin County Regional Jail

Summary: The Office cannot find that the Franklin County Regional
Jail (“the Jail”) violated the Open Records Act (“the Act”) because the
Office cannot resolve the factual dispute between the parties as to
whether the Jail received a request to inspect records.

Open Records Decision

Inmate Jan D. Blythe (“Appellant”) claims that on August 31, 2023, he
submitted a request to the Jail to inspect a disciplinary report related to a “physical
altercation” in which he was “allegedly involved.” On October 10, 2023, having
received no response from the Jail, 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.” The Office
has found it cannot resolve factual disputes between parties, such as whether an
agency received a request to inspect records. See, e.g., 23-ORD-005; 22-ORD-216; 22-
ORD-148; 22-ORD-125; 22-ORD-100; 22-ORD-051; 21-ORD-163.

Here, the Appellant claims he submitted a request to the Jail on August 31,
but it did not respond to his request. In contrast, on appeal, the Jail states it did not
respond to the Appellant’s request because it “has no record of having ever received”
it. The Office is unable to resolve the factual dispute between the parties as to if the
Jail received the Appellant’s request to inspect records or find that it violated the Act.A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an 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

#459

Distributed to:

Jan D. Blythe #145855
Chris Quire
Daniel Wills, Captain
Max H. Comley

LLM Summary
In 23-ORD-303, the Attorney General's Office determined that it could not resolve the factual dispute between Jan D. Blythe and the Franklin County Regional Jail regarding whether the Jail received Blythe's request to inspect a disciplinary report. The decision cites several previous Open Records Decisions to support the principle that the Office does not resolve factual disputes about the receipt of records requests.
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:
Jan D. Blythe
Agency:
Franklin County Regional Jail
Forward Citations:
Neighbors

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