LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s attorney general has ruled that the Fayette County Detention Center violated the state’s Open Records Act when it denied a public defender investigator’s request for jail policy documents without citing the proper legal authority for the denial.
In Opinion 26-ORD-108, issued March 19, 2026, Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office found that the detention center failed to identify the specific statutory exception it was relying on and failed to explain how that exception applied — both requirements under KRS 61.880(1).
The ruling stems from a February 18, 2026, records request by Michelle Green-Young, a special investigator with the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy. Green-Young requested two categories of documents from the Fayette County Detention Center: the facility’s general operations manual and its policies governing strip searches of newly booked inmates.
The center denied both requests the same day, citing only that its “policies and procedures are not subject to Open Record Requests due to the information provided being directly related to the safety and security of the Division.” No specific statute was cited.
Green-Young appealed, clarifying that she sought “general policy and procedural guidance governing jail operations and standards” — not facility schematics, security layouts or information identifying specific security vulnerabilities.
On appeal, the center invoked for the first time KRS 197.025(1) and (6), provisions that authorize a corrections commissioner or designee to withhold records deemed a security threat. The center argued there are “numerous safety risks” tied to releasing its policies, including the potential for coordinated inmate resistance and exposure of officer response procedures. It argued strip search policies in particular are “especially vulnerable to planned concealment, smuggling, and subterfuge.”
However, Assistant Attorney General Michelle D. Harrison wrote that the center’s initial denial — lacking any statutory citation or explanation — failed to meet the legal standard requiring agencies to provide “particular and detailed information” justifying a records denial, citing Edmondson v. Alig, 926 S.W.2d 856 (Ky. 1996).
“The agency’s explanation must be detailed enough to permit a reviewing court to assess its claim and the opposing party to challenge it,” Harrison wrote, citing Kentucky New Era, Inc. v. City of Hopkinsville, 415 S.W.3d 76 (Ky. 2013).
The opinion notes that the center, after the appeal was filed, conducted an additional review and agreed to release portions of the requested policies that do not implicate institutional safety or security. The AG’s office found that whether the center’s belated reliance on KRS 197.025 was justified for the withheld portions is “not ripe for review.”
Historically, Kentucky’s attorney general has deferred to corrections officials on security-based records denials. The ruling does not upend that deference — it faults only the center’s failure to properly invoke and explain the exemption in its initial response.
Parties may appeal the decision to circuit court within 30 days under KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882.
The full opinion, 26-ORD-108, is available through the Kentucky Attorney General’s Open Records Decisions database.
