Free Republic

MONTPELIER, Vt. — More than two years after he left the governor's office to make his unsuccessful run for the presidency, the fight over public access to Howard Dean's (search) gubernatorial records is coming before the Vermont Supreme Court. Monday's hearing is on the state's appeal of a ruling that 86 boxes of records Dean sealed when he left office in 2003 are instead presumed to be open.

Vermont Court Rules Against Dean in Records Lawsuit (CNSNews.com) - A Vermont court Tuesday ruled against Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean and the State of Vermont in a lawsuit brought by a public interest group seeking access to Dean's gubernatorial records. The court ruled that a private agreement between Dean and Vermont could not be used to prevent the public access to Dean's records. Dean's attorneys had asked the court to summarily throw out Judicial Watch's lawsuit, rather than letting a judge decide. As a result of the ruling, Dean must detail the records he is seeking to keep secret...

Dean's Sealed Records Thursday January 30, 2003 One hundred and 50 boxes of Democrat Howard Dean's records while governor of Vermont have been sealed for a decade. According to Green Mountain Democratic Secretary of State Deb Markowitz: "For the first time in Vermont's history, the governor asked for records to be closed for a decade." According to the secretary of state, that was negotiated down from 20 years. As indicated by Markowitz, the records of Governors Democrat Madeleine Kunin and Republican Richard Snelling were sealed for six years. As reported by WCAX-TV, Jan. 27, Dean was asked about the records...