MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – More than a year after the collapse of his presidential campaign, the fight over public access to Howard Dean’s gubernatorial records goes before the state’s high court next week.

The state is appealing a ruling from Superior Court Judge Alan Cook in February of last year saying that 86 boxes of records sealed by Dean when he left office in 2003 are presumed to be open.

Cook ordered that Dean and the state had to identify each of the hundreds of thousands of documents in the boxes and say why each should be covered by executive privilege.

Dean, Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz and Attorney General William Sorrell had agreed in a memorandum of understanding as he left office that the records would be sealed for 10 years – the longest period any Vermont governor had asked that records be off-limits.

The Washington-based group Judicial Watch sued to gain access to the records.

Dean, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told reporters in early 2003 that he had sealed the records because, “We didn’t want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time in any future endeavor.”

Judicial Watch noted that there is no exemption in the state public records law for potential political embarrassment or a thwarting of ambition.

“Dean’s political aspirations and his desire to prevent anything from ruining them are not sound arguments for secreting such an enormous quantity of government documents from the public,” said Thomas Fitton, president of Judicial Watch.

Vermont’s public records law allows state offices to charge for copies of records. There is ongoing debate whether it can charge for merely viewing, rather than copying, them or whether it can charge for the time state lawyers spend going through documents deciding what the person seeking the records can’t have.

After the Superior Court order 13 months ago, the attorney general’s office responded by saying it would charge $168,750 just to create an index of the Dean records.

In briefs filed at the Supreme Court, the state argues that sealing of gubernatorial records for a certain number of years after the governor retires is proper, and will encourage governors not to destroy sensitive materials before sending papers to the archives. The strategy ensures “that the public will eventually obtain access to valuable archival documents,” wrote Assistant Attorney General William Griffin.

Democrats traditionally have sought to paint themselves as stronger advocates than Republicans for those who want access to government records and meetings to question the actions of elected officials.

When potential critics were barred last month from a North Dakota appearance by President Bush, who has been traveling the country to promote partial privatization of Social Security, the man Dean replaced as Democratic chairman took umbrage.

“It is disgusting and unpatriotic for President Bush to keep American taxpayers out of a public event they paid for just because they might disagree with his plan to privatize Social Security,” Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. “If Bush really wants to have an open dialogue about the issue, he should welcome every American citizen to the table.”

Dean was not known as a fan of public access when he was governor. He repeatedly squabbled with media organizations seeking access to his daily schedule. Last month, he requested a media blackout of a debate in Portland, Oregon, with top Pentagon adviser Richard Perle, then quickly changed his mind after news agencies complained.

AP-ES-03-11-05 1438EST