1731

First Avenue North

Birmingham, AL 35203
phone: 205.325.4444

Sept. 1, 2015

TO: Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Hamner
Tuscaloosa County Courthouse
714 Greensboro Ave.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401

RE: DR-2015-900426.00

Dear Judge Hamner,
We are respectfully requesting that you unseal the records in the divorce case referenced above, filed Aug. 31, 2015, by Dianne
Bentley against Robert Bentley in Tuscaloosa circuit court.
Court records in divorce cases are usually public documents, and we believe that it is in the public interest that these documents
pertaining to the sitting governor of Alabama be opened for public inspection.
We disagree with the parties attorneys view: that the defendant holds a prominent office in the state of Alabama , and it would be
in the parties best interest that the public not be able to access the record in this divorce action.
In fact, we believe the opposite is true: the argument that these records should be open is even stronger than in the typical divorce
case because they pertain to the highest elected official in the state.
One who chooses to run for Governor knows that the electorate will justifiably scrutinize all aspects of his activities and background,
including his family circumstances, religious beliefs, and ethical and moral codes. The Governors spouse knows this as well. Such
transparency has long been recognized as essential to the ability of the citizenry to intelligently exercise its franchise in a
democracy. It would seem quite anomalous for the court to afford the Governor and his wife the unusual privilege of availing
themselves of the judicial system in secret proceedings, when that special treatment is (quite properly) not generally made a vailable
to citizens whose divorces are arguably of less public importance.

Sincerely,

Michelle Holmes
Vice President, Content
mholmes@al.com



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