26-ORD-126 – Kyle Thompson/Kentucky State Reformatory

Opinion Content:

March 25, 2026

In re: Kyle Thompson/Kentucky State Reformatory

Summary: The Office cannot find that the Kentucky State Reformatory
(“the Reformatory”) violated the Open Records Act (“the Act”) because
the Office cannot resolve the factual dispute between the parties.

Open Records Decision

On January 28, 2026, inmate Kyle Thompson (“Appellant”) submitted a
request to the Reformatory. On February 12, 2026, claiming he had not received a
response from the Reformatory, the Appellant initiated this appeal.

Under the Act, a public agency “shall determine within five (5) [business]
days . . . after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with the request and
shall notify in writing the person making the request, within the five (5) day period,
of its decision.” KRS 61.880(1). Here, the Appellant claims he submitted his request
to the Reformatory on January 28, and that, as of February 12, he had yet to receive
a response. On appeal, the Reformatory states that it received the Appellant’s request
on February 12 and that it sent a timely response that same day.

The Office has regularly found that it is unable to resolve factual disputes
between a requester and a public agency, such as whether an agency received a
request or a requester received a response to it. See, e.g., 23-ORD-276 (factual dispute
as to whether a requester received a response to his request). Similarly, here, the
Office cannot find the Reformatory violated the Act because the Office cannot resolve
the factual dispute between the parties as to whether the Appellant received the
Reformatory’s responses to his request.

A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an action in the
appropriate circuit court under KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882 within 30 days from

the date of this decision. Under KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General shall 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 [email protected].

Russell Coleman
Attorney General

/s/ Zachary M. Zimmerer
Zachary M. Zimmerer
Assistant Attorney General

Kyle Thompson #248317, Appellant
Nathan Goens, Assistant General Counsel, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
Charles Bates, Staff Attorney III, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
Sara Talarigo, Paralegal, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
Ann Smith, Executive Staff Advisor, Justice