HARRISBURG (Aug. 7, 1997) -- The Pennsylvania Bar Association last week filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania asking it to intervene in the confidentiality case surrounding judicial ratings, now pending on appeal in Commonwealth Court.

In its petition, PBA said that the "litigation has imperiled and frustrated a process in which there is a compelling public interest -- the independent evaluation of the qualifications of judicial candidates by an organization that is free from political pressures."

The petition further states that the issue is of "immediate public importance" with the general election just three months away and warrants the high court's intervention.

Vincent J. Grogan, president of PBA, which sponsors the Pennsylvania Judicial Evaluation Commission, noted that the PBA is concerned that the lawsuit may have a "chilling effect" on comments regarding the qualifications of judicial candidates.

"The Commission is getting ready to evaluate retention candidates and I am afraid this litigation will hurt their work in collecting honest and fair comments about judges' qualifications," he said.

Since March when the lawsuit was filed, the Commission has operated under the threat that confidential information may be disclosed, but Grogan stressed that the PBA remains committed to supporting a system by which confidential and fair evaluations of judicial candidates are provided to the public.

"For more than a decade, various committees of the Pennsylvania Bar Association reviewed the qualifications of candidates for statewide judgeships," Grogan said. "This process is citizen-driven and independent. To disclose confidential comments of people who were initially promised anonymity, would destroy a system that provides valuable information to voters."

Last March, just a few weeks after the PJEC announced its rating of judicial candidates running in the Republican primary, Attorneys Alvin B. Lewis and Richard A. Sprague filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County demanding access to confidential documents used by the Commission in rating appellate court candidates.

Following a hearing, the court ruled in favor of Lewis and Sprague and ordered PBA to turn over the documents, but the PBA obtained a stay pending an appeal in Commonwealth Court.

PBA and their opponents, who also filed a petition with the Supreme Court, must now wait for a decision from the Court as to whether they will hear the case. If the Court refuses, the appeal will remain in Commonwealth Court.

Grogan noted that the timing of the case is critical because of the six vacancies on the appellate courts.

"Voters will elect one Supreme Court justice, four Superior Court judges and one Commonwealth Court judge in November. With so many names on the ballot, the judicial ratings are important to help voters decide which candidates are the most qualified. This is a valuable public service -- well worth protecting."