Pursuant to Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) Chapter 15.025, the Attorney General provides legal opinions to public officials to assist them in the performance of their duties. When special circumstances exist, the Attorney General may provide opinions to members of the general public on issues of significant public interest.
Opinions of the Attorney General (OAGs) do not have the force of law, but they are persuasive and public officials are expected to follow them. Formal opinions are thoroughly reviewed and represent the official position of the Office of the Attorney General. OAGs may be cited in all Kentucky courts. The citation form for an OAG in the form issued by the Attorney General is: OAG 94-25. If you are citing an OAG from the version published by Banks-Baldwin, the citation form is: Opinions of the Attorney General of Kentucky OAG 94-25 at 2-65 (Banks-Baldwin 1994). In addition to OAGs (often called formal opinions), the Attorney General sometimes issues letters to public officials providing legal advice or information. These miscellaneous advice letters are not published and do not receive the same detailed review as OAGs. They are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
Where can I find information regarding conflicts of interest and incompatible offices?
The Office of the Attorney General has prepared a booklet summarizing the important concepts pertaining to incompatible offices and conflicts of interest. Wherever possible, this booklet will be sent to persons with questions in this area in lieu of an opinion. Download the booklet here:
Conflicts of Interest (84k PDF).
What is the difference between 'published' and 'unpublished' opinions?
Since 1960, the official publisher of opinions has been Banks-Baldwin. Only opinions designated by the Attorney General as "published" were printed in the Banks-Baldwin volumes. However, annotations to all opinions were given in the Kentucky Revised Statutes published by West Publishing and Michie. Therefore many opinions annotated in the KRS publications cannot be found in the official Banks-Baldwin volumes. Today the Attorney General observes no distinction between published and unpublished opinions. All formal opinions are given an OAG number and sent to Banks-Baldwin for publication. The Attorney General cites both published and unpublished opinions and does not consider unpublished opinions less authoritative than published opinions.
How can I get a copy of an existing opinion?
If you would like a copy of an opinion, the Attorney General will provide a copy of any opinion free of charge. The opinion will be mailed to you. (Please note that we have posted most OAGs from 1992 to the present and are working to add prior years). To request a copy of an opinion, please submit your request in writing to:
Open Records
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 118
Frankfort, KY 40601
Fax: (502) 564-8310
Email:
KyOAGOR@ky.gov
You must provide the OAG number of the opinion (e.g., for opinion #20 from 1994 the number is "OAG-94-20").
How can I request a new opinion?
Before you request an opinion, please attempt to answer the question by consulting readily available legal resources. The Attorney General expects that any attorney requesting an opinion has conducted legal research and will include that research with the opinion request. Requests for new opinions must be submitted
in writing to:
Opinions
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 118
Frankfort, KY 40601
Is a particular opinion still current?
Frequently we are asked whether a particular opinion, usually an older opinion, still represents the views of the Attorney General. There are many factors, such as subsequent legislation and court decisions, that can affect the statements of law made in an opinion. To determine whether an opinion is still correct requires in most cases a complete re-examination of the questions addressed in the opinion. Because we cannot possibly maintain a constant review of all the issues in all the Attorney General opinions, we cannot answers questions about the continuing validity of opinions. We strive in our opinions to explain the legal issues and the law as it existed when the opinion was written so that a person reading the opinion can on his own update the legal research described in the opinion.