PROVIDENCE — The government watchdog group Common Cause of Rhode Island weighed in this week in favor of maintaining public access to the letters that are submitted to the Judicial Nominating Commission about finalists for state judgeships.

The commission, which recommends finalists for all state judgeships, wants to keep those letters secret, and it has asked Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch to confirm its interpretation of the Access to Public Records Act.

The commission asked for Lynch’s opinion following an inquiry by The Providence Journal, which is seeking access to letters either for or against eight finalists for a Superior Court vacancy.

Common Cause Executive Director Christine Lopes wrote to Lynch on Wednesday, saying, “Whether a member of the public attends a hearing and provides oral comments, or submits a letter in writing about a finalist for judicial office, the public should be able to ascertain who is having input into the selection of judges in Rhode Island.”

The public has an “extraordinary” interest in the selection of judges, Lopes said, citing the 1994 state constitutional amendment that ushered in the current process of selecting state judges.

“Following the second judicial scandal in a decade in which the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court was forced to resign under a cloud of pending impeachment, Rhode Island voters approved the [1994] constitutional amendment establishing judicial merit selection by an overwhelming 70 percent,” Lopes wrote. “The central principle behind merit selection is that an independent, nonpartisan JNC would provide a list of 3 to 5 highly qualified candidates for each judicial vacancy based on merit and through a public process.”

In the past, the commission has provided The Journal with copies of letters regarding judicial candidates, including letters submitted eight years ago on behalf of the current Supreme Court chief justice, Frank J. Williams.

But Stephen J. Carlotti, who was appointed commission chairman in February 2007 by Governor Carcieri, said he would not release such letters when The Journal made an inquiry in June. He then said the commission would seek the attorney general’s opinion on the matter.

In a letter to Lynch, Carlotti noted that the Access to Public Records Act “makes available to the public all documents, papers, letters, etc. [in] connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.” But, he said, the law “provides that certain information shall not be deemed public records, including information in personnel files maintained to hire, evaluate, promote or discipline any employee of a public body.”

The commission does not release the applications of judicial candidates, and Carlotti said letters of recommendation are “made a part of the application” rather than being kept separately.

“While there is no requirement that applicants submit letters of recommendation, it has been the custom and practice for applicants to request people to write on their behalf,” Carlotti wrote. “The commission believes that the application and the accompanying letters are documents of a nature exempted under the provisions of the [Access to Public Records Act] in that they are part of files maintained as part of the process of ‘hiring’ judges.”

In her letter, Lopes agreed that letters of recommendation are not required as part of an application. But, she said, “We disagree with the reasoning that simply because the letters are kept in the same file with the application that they should be exempt from disclosure.”

Lopes concluded the letter by saying Common Cause “strongly urges” Lynch to consider both the letter of the law and the spirit of the Access to Public Records Act.

“We hope you will take this opportunity to safeguard the integrity of the process that selects those charged with the important task of upholding the laws of Rhode Island,” she wrote.

efitzpat@projo.com