The AOC's secretiveness
DateTime:7/21/2009 11:56:42 AM

Lambert's son worked for a time for Ross Sinclaire & Associates, which handled the bonds on more than 68 percent of the courthouse projects. The son's girlfriend was hired for an unadvertised human resources job at AOC.

The point is that episodes like this fundamentally undermine public confidence in our court system. The AOC's secretiveness — refusing to answer questions about whether Scott had notified the AOC of the drug charge, whether he was disciplined because of it, or what role his family ties had in the promotion — further damages the agency's standing.

Secrecy has become something of a hallmark at the AOC, which is exempted from the state's open records law. That's made it hard to sort out just where the money has gone in the $800 million courthouse building spree overseen by former Chief Justice Joseph Lambert.