PROVIDENCE — A lawyer representing The Providence Journal wrote to Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch’s office last week to say the Judicial Nominating Commission should not be allowed to keep the public from seeing letters advocating for or against finalists for a state judgeship.

After an inquiry by The Journal, JNC Chairman Stephen J. Carlotti wrote to Lynch, saying the commission believes that applications — “and the accompanying letters” — are exempt from disclosure under the Access to Public Records Act because “they are part of files maintained as part of the process for ‘hiring’ judges.”

Carlotti asked Lynch to confirm that the commission’s interpretation of the law was correct “and that the commission is under no obligation to release letters of recommendation submitted on behalf of applicants to the public.”

The Journal is requesting letters submitted to the commission regarding eight finalists for the Superior Court vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Vincent A. Ragosta. The Journal noted that it was not requesting the candidates’ applications and not requesting letters submitted on behalf of candidates that were never interviewed for the vacancy.

On Wednesday, a lawyer representing The Journal, Joseph V. Cavanagh Jr., wrote to Special Assistant Attorney General Michael W. Field, saying, “As you well know, the public’s right to know and have access to information is an essential element of the First Amendment.”

Under the Access to Public Records Act, there is a presumption that all government records are to be available for public inspection, unless the act specifically excludes those records, Cavanagh said. And the Rhode Island Supreme Court has said that “the public agency maintaining records has the ‘heavy burden’ of overcoming the strong presumption in favor of disclosure of records,” he wrote.

The JNC is relying on a section of the act that exempts “information in personnel files maintained to hire, evaluate, promote or discipline any employee of a public body,” Cavanagh said. But, he wrote, “It is evident that the JNC’s files are not ‘personnel files,’ and the JNC does not ‘hire’ any judicial candidates.”

“Rather, the subject letters are voluntarily submitted by citizens as part of a deliberately open merit-selection process for the vetting of candidates for lifetime judicial appointments,” Cavanagh wrote. “Disclosure of the subject letters would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, but rather is consistent with the compelling interest that the public has in ensuring that highly qualified individuals are considered to fill the important public role as a member of the state’s judicial branch, and that the selection process is fair, balanced and open to public scrutiny.”

Also, Cavanagh said the commission’s current stance was “completely contrary to an established practice of the JNC.” In years past, the commission has provided The Journal with copies of letters submitted on behalf of judicial candidates, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams.

Carlotti, who was appointed by Governor Carcieri in February 2007, noted in his letter that the commission does not release applications, saying, “The letters are made a part of the application submitted by the applicant and are not kept separate and apart from the application.”

But Cavanagh said the letters were not part of a finalist’s application, and they could be easily segregated from the application. “These letters are not customarily submitted by the candidates but rather are voluntarily delivered by citizens interested in weighing in publicly on a finalist’s qualifications,” he said.

“For all these reasons,” Cavanagh wrote, “The Journal maintains that the JNC’s interpretation of the applicability of the act is wrong as a matter of law, and that the letters advocating for or against the eight finalists for the Superior Court vacancy created by Judge Ragosta’s retirement are public records and subject to disclosure in their entirety.”

efitzpat@projo.com