Annotations for Decision
Law enforcement exemption in KRS 61.878(1)(h) is appropriately invoked only when an agency can articulate a factual basis for applying the exemption when, because of a record’s content, the record’s release poses a concrete risk of harm to the agency in a prospective action, which must be something more than a hypothetical or speculative concern. City of Fort Thomas v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 406 S.W.3d 842, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 375 (Ky. 2013). Full Details
When a newspaper sought a police department’s entire file in a murder case, the file was not categorically exempt due to the potential that the defendant in the murder case would collaterally attack the defendant’s conviction, due to the file’s relation to a prospective law enforcement action, because, inter alia, Skaggs v. Redford, exempting a prosecutor’s litigation file from disclosure, did not apply to the police department’s file. City of Fort Thomas v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 406 S.W.3d 842, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 375 (Ky. 2013). Full Details
When a newspaper sought a police department’s entire file in a murder case, the file was not categorically exempt due to the potential that the defendant in the murder case would collaterally attack the defendant’s conviction, due to the file’s relation to a prospective law enforcement action, because, inter alia, a city made no attempt to identify potentially exempt material in the file. City of Fort Thomas v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 406 S.W.3d 842, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 375 (Ky. 2013). Full Details
When a newspaper sought a police department’s entire file in a murder case, the file was not categorically exempt due to the potential that the defendant in the murder case would collaterally attack the defendant’s conviction, due to the file’s relation to a prospective law enforcement action, because, inter alia, the exemption in KRS 61.878(1)(h) was properly invoked only when a record’s release, due to the record’s content, posed more than a hypothetical risk of harm. City of Fort Thomas v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 406 S.W.3d 842, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 375 (Ky. 2013). Full Details
When it was determined that a city erroneously denied a newspaper’s request for a police department’s entire file in a murder case, it was not an abuse of discretion to deny the newspaper’s request for fees and costs because, inter alia, the city had a plausible, if erroneous, justification for denying the newspaper’s request. City of Fort Thomas v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 406 S.W.3d 842, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 375 (Ky. 2013). Full Details
When it was determined that a city erroneously denied a newspaper’s request for a police department’s entire file in a murder case, it was not an abuse of discretion to deny the newspaper’s request for fees and costs, even when a prosecutor had previously disclosed part of the file to a television station, because (1) the city was not required to research whether another agency had previously disclosed part of the file, (2) the part disclosed was a very small part of the records requested, (3) the newspaper did not specify this part of the file, and (4) this part of the file was disclosed before the Attorney General opined that disclosure was required. City of Fort Thomas v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 406 S.W.3d 842, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 375 (Ky. 2013). Full Details