26-ORD-174 – Anthony Willett/Henderson County Detention Center

Opinion Content:

April 22, 2026

In re: Anthony Willett/Henderson County Detention Center

Summary: The Henderson County Detention Center (“the Center”) did
not violate the Open Records Act (“the Act”) when it allowed a former
employee five days to file a civil action to prevent the release of records
under Beckham v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, 873 S.W.2d
575 (Ky. 1994). The Center did not violate the Act when it identified
records it does not possess and provided contact information for the
custodian of those records.

Open Records Decision

On March 18, 2026, Anthony Willett (“the Appellant”) submitted a request to
the Center seeking “records related to the employment” of a named Center employee.
In a March 24, 2026, response, the Center identified records that could be obtained
from a particular Henderson County employee 1 and provided her contact information.
The Center further said that the subject of the request had standing to bring a civil
action under Beckham to enforce his privacy rights under KRS 61.878(1)(a). For this
reason, the Center stated it would grant the subject of the request five business days
after the date of its response in which to file such an action before the Center released
records to the Appellant. This appeal followed.

Under KRS 61.872(4), “[i]f the person to whom the application is directed does
not have custody or control of the public record requested, that person shall notify the
applicant and shall furnish the name and location of the official custodian of the
agency’s public records.” The Center complied with KRS 61.872(4) by identifying
which requested records it does not possess and providing the name and contact
information of the custodian of those records. As such, this portion of the Center’s
response did not violate the Act.

1 The identified records custodian is an employee of the Henderson County Fiscal Court.

The Appellant also argues the Center violated the Act by allowing its employee
time to file an action under Beckham. In Beckham, the Supreme Court of Kentucky
held that, under KRS 61.882(1), a person affected by an agency’s disclosure of records
has standing to petition the circuit court to prevent the agency from disclosing the
records. 873 S.W.2d at 579. An affected person who receives notice from the agency
of an open records request is responsible for taking “such further action as he deems
appropriate.” Lexington–Fayette Urb. Cnty. Gov’t v. Lexington Herald–Leader Co., 941
S.W.2d 469, 473 (Ky. 1997). Neither the General Assembly nor the Court has specified
how much time such a person may be given to bring an action under Beckham.
However, this Office previously found that ten days was not an unreasonable delay
for this purpose. See, e.g., 22-ORD-170; 14-ORD-064. Accordingly, the Center did not
violate the Act by affording the employee five days to file an action to prevent the
release of his employment records.

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

Anthony Willett, Appellant
Bruce Todd, Henderson County Detention Center, Jailer
Shelly Vaught, Henderson County Detention Center, Administrative Assistant
Steve Gold, Henderson County Attorney