Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman could not resolve a factual disagreement between an inmate and Little Sandy Correctional Complex over whether documents provided were responsive to his open records request, according to an open records decision issued May 1.

Inmate Leslie Haun submitted a request March 5 to the Elliott County prison facility seeking emails sent to or from a named staff member pertaining to him and his grievances, as well as any requests for time extensions on two specified grievances. The facility responded with one email it said was responsive, four pages of grievances, and stated no records existed regarding the time extension requests.

Haun appealed, claiming none of the records the facility provided actually responded to his request. The Kentucky Open Records Act authorizes the Attorney General to review agency actions that subvert the intent of the statute, even when there is no outright denial. The prison argued that the grievances it provided were attachments to the responsive email, making them relevant to the request.

In the decision, the Attorney General's office concluded it lacks authority to resolve disputes about the content and responsiveness of records already produced. "The Office cannot resolve factual disputes between a requester and a public agency about the content of the records produced," the decision states.

As a result, the Attorney General found the facility did not violate the Open Records Act. Haun may appeal the decision to circuit court within 30 days. The decision also noted that Haun raised a second complaint about another records request, but the office said he had not properly invoked jurisdiction by failing to provide the facility's response or indicate whether it failed to respond.