Judge Orders Miller to Release Personal Documents

FAIRBANKS -- A judge ruled Saturday that the Fairbanks North Star Borough must release personnel records of U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller.

In an unusual weekend hearing, retired Superior Court Judge Winston Burbank ruled that the public's right to know about candidates outweighed Miller's right to privacy.

"I hold that although Mr. Miller has a legitimate expectation of privacy in those documents, Mr. Miller's right to privacy is indeed outweighed by the public's significant interest in the background of a public figure who is running for the U.S. Senate," the judge said. He noted that U.S. senator is among the highest elected offices in the nation.

Burbank ordered that nothing actually will be released until Tuesday afternoon, however, to allow for the ruling to be appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court.

The judge said that about 30 of the documents being sought would not be released. Twice that number would be redacted. The case was brought by a group of Alaska news media organizations, which have been trying since summer to see borough documents concerning Miller's employment as a part-time borough attorney.

Miller, the Republican nominee for Senate in a tight three-way race, fought the lawsuit, arguing that any release of personnel records violated his privacy rights.