HARRISBURG (Oct. 22, 1997) --- The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Pennsylvania Bar Association to preserve the confidentiality of the documents and proceedings of the Judicial Evaluation Commission, which rated candidates running in next month's election.

Vincent J. Grogan, president of the PBA, was ecstatic over the Court's ruling, particularly in light of the election being only two weeks away.

"It was a wonderful opinion, written in clear and decisive terms, which will provide guidance to us as we move forward with the Evaluation Commission. It will also provide the necessary guidelines for many other situations," Grogan said.

"I am pleased that the court states the importance of confidentiality in upholding the integrity of the evaluation process. The Commission relies on confidentiality as a means to obtaining candid comments about candidates' qualifications. This ruling goes a long way in promoting the free flow of information about judicial candidates, so that voters are informed."

Last March, Richard Sprague and Alvin Lewis, members of the PBA, sued the association because they were denied access to documents used by the JEC in determining judicial ratings. As members of PBA, they believed they had a right to view the documents under the nonprofit corporation statute.

The Supreme Court, exercising its King's Bench power which permits it to intervene in any pending case, agreed in August to take the case after a Lancaster County common pleas judge ruled that the documents should be disclosed.

Grogan emphasized that this ruling has national ramifications, because several state and local associations conduct similar judicial evaluations.

"Pennsylvania voters are not the only winners here -- several other state and local bar associations, 12 who filed amicus briefs on behalf of PBA, will also benefit from this decision."