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                   Sept.  1,  2015    TO:  Circuit  Court  Judge  Elizabeth  Hamner  Tuscaloosa  County  Courthouse  714  Greensboro  Ave.  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama  35401    

RE:  DR-­‐2015-­‐900426.00  

 

Dear  Judge  Hamner,  

We  are  respectfully  requesting  that  you  unseal  the  records  in  the  divorce  case  referenced  above,  filed  Aug.  31,  2015,  by  Dianne  Bentley  against  Robert  Bentley  in  Tuscaloosa  circuit  court.  

Court  records  in  divorce  cases  are  usually  public  documents,  and  we  believe  that  it  is  in  the  public  interest  that  these  documents  pertaining  to  the  sitting  governor  of  Alabama  be  opened  for  public  inspection.  

We  disagree  with  the  parties’  attorneys  view:  that  the  “defendant  holds  a  prominent  office  in  the  state  of  Alabama  ,  and  it  would  be  in  the  parties’  best  interest  that  the  public  not  be  able  to  access  the  record  in  this  divorce  action.”  

In  fact,  we  believe  the  opposite  is  true:  the  argument  that  these  records  should  be  open  is  even  stronger  than  in  the  typical  divorce  case  because  they  pertain  to  the  highest  elected  official  in  the  state.    

One  who  chooses  to  run  for  Governor  knows  that  the  electorate  will  justifiably  scrutinize  all  aspects  of  his  activities  and  background,  including  his  family  circumstances,  religious  beliefs,  and  ethical  and  moral  codes.    The  Governor’s  spouse  knows  this  as  well.    Such  transparency  has  long  been  recognized  as  essential  to  the  ability  of  the  citizenry  to  intelligently  exercise  its  franchise  in  a  democracy.    It  would  seem  quite  anomalous  for  the  court  to  afford  the  Governor  and  his  wife  the  unusual  privilege  of  availing  themselves  of  the  judicial  system  in  secret  proceedings,  when  that  special  treatment  is  (quite  properly)  not  generally  made  available  to  citizens  whose  divorces  are  arguably  of  less  public  importance.  

 

Sincerely,  

   Michelle  Holmes  Vice  President,  Content  mholmes@al.com