# Kentucky AG Rules Nelson County Sheriff Violated Open Records Law **Published:** 2026-05-28T00:00:00.000Z **Source:** [KY Attorney General Open Records](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-240.pdf) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/kentucky-ag-rules-nelson-county-sheriff-violated-open-records-law Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman ruled that the Nelson County Sheriff's Office violated the state's Open Records Act by denying a public records request solely because it was made for a commercial purpose, according to a decision issued May 28, 2026. The decision came after Samantha Jones requested records related to an arrest made by the sheriff's office on June 27, 2025. Jones disclosed that her request was for a commercial purpose, but the sheriff's office denied the request, stating the sheriff "does not wish to share videos or records for commercial purposes." [In the open records decision 26-ORD-240](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-240.pdf), Coleman's office found that denying a records request based solely on commercial purpose violates state law, unless a specific statute explicitly prohibits such disclosure for commercial use. "The Sheriff's Office has not cited any separate provision that allows it to deny a request because it was made for a commercial purpose," the decision stated. "Therefore, the Sheriff's Office violated the Act when it denied a request solely because it was submitted for a commercial purpose." Under Kentucky law, public agencies may impose conditions and reasonable fees when records are requested for commercial purposes. [Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 61.874](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56330) permits agencies to establish reasonable fees for commercial requests, which may include staff costs. However, agencies cannot simply refuse to provide records based on commercial intent without citing a specific statutory exemption. The Nelson County Sheriff's Office is located in Bardstown and serves as the primary law enforcement agency for Nelson County's 424 square miles, providing police protection and handling public records requests for the county. Jones has the right to appeal the decision in circuit court within 30 days. The attorney general's office said it should be notified of any such action but will not be named as a party in the case. ## Sources - [KY Attorney General Open Records](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-240.pdf) - [Kentucky Revised Statutes Open Records Law (KRS 61.870-61.884)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56330) - [Nelson County Sheriff's Office](https://nelsonsheriff.com/) - [Kentucky Attorney General Guidance on Commercial Purpose Requests](https://www.ag.ky.gov/AG%20Publications/2023%20Open%20Records%20Open%20Meetings%20Guide.pdf) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from KY Attorney General Open Records, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-240.pdf.