Opinion ID: 2100511
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Existence of Additional, Undisclosed Records.

Text: Appellant also contends that the cancellation of the evidentiary hearing denied him an opportunity to present evidence of the existence of additional records which he had not received and which were in the LFUCG's possession. The Open Records Act is silent as to the procedure to be followed when a requester seeks to enforce the Act over a public agency's denial of the record's existence. The Act contemplates that an agency will deny an open records request when it believes that the requested records are exempt, but it does not envision a situation, as here, where the agency claims that the records do not exist. See KRS 61.880(1) (An agency response denying ... inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record . . . .). Similarly, the Act's enforcement provisions assume that the parties will be litigating the viability of a claimed exemption over existing records, not the very existence of the records. See KRS 61.882(3) (The court ... may view the records in controversy in camera before reaching a decision.). In construing this legislative enactment, we must view it as a whole, looking to the letter and spirit of the statute. Combs v. Hubb Coal Corp., 934 S.W.2d 250, 252 (Ky.1996). The duty of this Court is to give effect to the intent of the legislature as contained in the statutory language, considering the evil the law was intended to remedy. Hearn v. Commonwealth, 80 S.W.3d 432, 434 (Ky.2002). The General Assembly has expressly declared the basic policy of the Open Records Act to be that free and open examination of records is in the public interest . . . . KRS 61.871. When faced with the present situation, the best way to uphold this policy is to ensure that the complaining party has an opportunity to disprove a public agency's denial of the existence of records. The allowance of an opportunity for such a hearing is also in accord with the Act's interrelation with the various statutes governing orderly maintenance and management of public records. KRS 61.8715. To hold otherwise could remove accountability from the open records process, allowing public agencies to avoid judicial review by denying a record's existence altogether rather than claiming a statutory exemption. Statutes must not be construed in a way that they become meaningless or ineffectual. Commonwealth v. Phon, 17 S.W.3d 106, 108 (Ky.2000); Allen v. McClendon, 967 S.W.2d 1, 3 (Ky.1998). At the same time, the General Assembly has also evidenced a concern that public agencies not be unreasonably burdened and that essential functions not be disrupted by open records requests. KRS 61.872(6). The unfettered possibility of fishing expeditions for hoped-for but nonexistent records would place an undue burden on public agencies. In order to refute a complaining party's claims to a nonexistent record, the agency would essentially have to prove a negative, presumably by presenting evidence of its standards and practices regarding document production and retention, as well as its methods of searching its archives. [4] Therefore, we hold that before a complaining party is entitled to such a hearing, he or she must make a prima facie showing that such records do exist. [5] On July 8, 2002, Appellant filed a motion to reconsider the cancellation of the evidentiary hearing, supported by affidavits, police reports, and newspaper articles. He claims these documents are sufficient to establish the existence of records generated by the LPD, which, despite his requests for all records pertaining to Donald Adams, he never received. According to Appellant, these undisclosed records would contain additional information about the criminal record of Donald Adams and would reveal that Edward Earley had given the LPD information about Adams's past criminal activities. First, Appellant cites numerous articles from the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper discussing a burglary that purportedly occurred on June 6, 1989, and naming Donald Adams as the victim. Appellant claims that he received no police records regarding the burglary. Because the articles constitute inadmissible hearsay, KRE 802; 1101(b), (d), they are insufficient to establish that the burglary occurred or that records regarding it exist. Second, Appellant claims he never received any records regarding the suspected drug-dealing activities of Donald Adams prior to Adams's arrest on October 13, 1989, despite his request for all records pertaining to Adams. To prove the existence of such records, Appellant submitted the affidavits of several current and former members of the LPD stating that the Department had received ROIs about Adams's activities before his 1989 arrest, and that this intelligence likely generated ROI files on Adams and his businesses. Nevertheless, these affidavits pertaining to the pre-1989 creation of ROI files are insufficient to establish their present existence. According to the LFUCG's letter to Appellant of July 26, 2000, LPD policy is to routinely purge all ROI files after five years, unless they become part of an active police investigation. Any ROI file that led to Adams's 1989 arrest would have merged with the arrest file, which Appellant received. The affidavits were insufficient to prove the existence of additional unfurnished ROI files on Adams and his businesses. Third, Appellant claims that records identifying the confidential informant who provided the LPD with information that led to Donald Adams's arrest on October 13, 1989, exist and that he has not received them. In support of this contention, he submitted the affidavit of Harold Winings, the lead officer in the investigation of Adams that led to this arrest. However, in his affidavit, Winings expressed his belief that records concerning informants were not kept in 1989. The affidavit of James Cox, LPD Property and Evidence Section Supervisor, also stated that records concerning informants were not kept at that time. Accordingly, this affidavit is insufficient to establish the existence of records regarding the identity of the confidential informant. Fourth, Appellant argues that he has not received the full extent of the records detailing the LPD's investigation into the possibility of Adams's involvement in the Earley homicides. In response to his open records requests, Appellant received the written summary of an interview of Adams that was conducted as part of the Earley homicide investigation. It appears from the affidavit of William Henderson, the lead investigator in the Earley homicide investigation, that this was the extent of the investigation into Adams's possible involvement. Under Appellant's questioning, no officer involved in the Earley homicide investigation recalled ever receiving any information indicating that Edward Earley was the confidential informant who provided the tip that led to Adams's 1989 arrest. While it is understandable that Appellant would second-guess an investigation that led to his arrest and conviction, his bare assertion that the LPD should have further investigated Adams's possible involvement in the homicides does not establish the existence of records that he has not already received. [6] Finally, Appellant claims that records relating to the investigation of an alleged probation violation by Adams exist and were never produced. Appellant submitted a memorandum written to Lexington Police Chief Walsh detailing a confidential informant's allegations that Adams was trafficking in drugs from an automobile repair shop and committing other probation violations. On July 1, 1990, Walsh responded by directing Assistant Chief K.B. Watson to have this matter investigated and respond with the results. Appellant also submitted affidavits from three former Lexington police officers, each of whom remembered executing a search warrant at the automobile repair shop. It appears from the record of this case that no investigative or enforcement action was taken against Adams after the execution of this search warrant. Thus, it is most likely that any ROI files generated at the time of this incident were purged after five years in accordance with LPD policy. Appellant obtained extensive sworn testimony from numerous current and former LPD officials concerning information received by the LPD regarding Donald Adams, the extent to which the Earley homicide investigation focused on Adams, and the LPD's document creation and retention policies. Appellant has presented no credible evidence that the LFUCG has failed to comply with the trial court's May 11 and June 19, 2001, orders requiring it to release all non-exempt records pertaining to anyone named Donald Adams (regardless of middle name or other identifying information) to Appellant. These orders and the opportunity to submit affidavits taken from Appellant's witnesses provided adequate relief to Appellant; thus, the trial court did not err in denying Appellant an evidentiary hearing to prove the existence of claimed additional unfurnished records.