23-ORD-331

December 14, 2023

In re: Ashton McHatton/Henderson Circuit Court Clerk

Summary: The Open Records Act (“the Act”) does not apply to records
of the Henderson Circuit Court Clerk (“the Clerk”).

Open Records Decision

On September 1, 2023, Ashton McHatton (“Appellant”) submitted a request1
to the Clerk for copies of records related to cases in the Henderson Circuit Court.
Having not received the records by November 8, 2023, the Appellant initiated this
appeal.

Although KRS 61.880(2) charges the Attorney General with the duty to resolve
disputes regarding access to public records, the Act is not binding on the judicial
branch. Ex parte Farley, 570 S.W.2d 617, 624 (Ky. 1978). Because the Act does not
apply to court records, the Clerk, who is purportedly the custodian of the requested
records, was not required to respond to the request. See 98-ORD-6. Accordingly, the
Office dismisses the appeal.2

A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an 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

1
The Appellant mentions three other requests for records from the Clerk. However, two of those
three requests were made by telephone and a copy of the third was not submitted with the appeal.
Under KRS 61.880(2)(a), a complaining party must “provide a copy of the written request” to invoke
the jurisdiction of the Attorney General.
2
The Office notes the Supreme Court of Kentucky has adopted its own policies and procedures for
requesting copies of court records from the judicial branch. See https://www.kycourts.gov/Pages/open-
records-
request.aspx#:~:text=The%20State%20Records%20Center%20stores,and%2For%20Social%20Securit
y%20number. (last accessed Dec. 14, 2023).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/ James M. Herrick

James M. Herrick

Assistant Attorney General

#516

Distributed to:

Ashton N. McHatton
Clyde G. Sutton, Clerk
Katie C. Comstock, Esq.

LLM Summary

In 23-ORD-331, the Attorney General's office dismissed an appeal regarding a request for records from the Henderson Circuit Court Clerk. The decision was based on the precedent that the Open Records Act does not apply to the judicial branch, specifically citing 98-ORD-006 to support this position. The decision clarifies that the Clerk was not required to respond to the records request under the Act.

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