PORTLAND (AP) – Blethen Maine Newspapers is involved in two lawsuits against Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe that seek to better define the line between personal privacy and the public’s right to know.

In a 2002 lawsuit now before the state Supreme Judicial Court, the newspapers argued that Rowe should release personnel files of now-deceased Roman Catholic priests who had been accused of sexual abuse of minors.

In another case filed this year, Blethen, the parent company of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, has asked for copies of organ donation consent forms, as part of an investigation into a controversial brain collection program that involved employees of the state medical examiner’s office.

In both cases, the newspapers are seeking documents that identify members of the public in order to independently investigate government actions. In both cases, the state argues that releasing the documents would open those people to unwarranted intrusion.

“The Freedom of Access Act is intended so people can see what their government is up to,” said Chuck Dow, spokesman for the Maine attorney general’s office. “The documents involved in both these cases, not only the government is implicated … Does a citizen open himself up to scrutiny every time he interacts with the government? We think the act says no.”‘

Jonathan Piper, who represents the newspapers, said there’s no way for the press to fill its watchdog role if the state withholds identifying details.

“We’ve got to talk to the people involved and ask questions. Otherwise, we’ve got to take the government’s word whenever they say, Don’t worry, we’ve got it under control,”‘ he said.

As part of a criminal investigation in 2002, the attorney general’s office received decades of personnel records of priests and others employed by the Roman Catholic church who were subject to sexual abuse claims. The newspapers requested the files of priests who had died, arguing that the dead could not be the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation and do not have a right to privacy.

In 2003, Superior Court Justice Kirk Studstrup agreed and ordered the records to be released. Rowe appealed, saying that identifying the priests would also identify the witnesses and victims who reported the abuse. The appeal went before the state’s supreme court on May 13, 2004 and both parties are still waiting for a ruling.

Also in 2004, the Portland Press Herald began a yearlong investigation into a program in which a research laboratory in Maryland that paid a former state funeral inspector more than $150,000 for brains collected in Maine.

Two families filed lawsuits claiming that their relatives’ brains were collected without their permission.

In response to a request from the newspapers, Rowe’s office released organ donor consent forms with all identifying information blacked out.

In its suit the newspaper claims that without a review of the complete forms, there is no way of knowing whether other brains were removed without proper consent.

Sunshine Week is being observed in Maine and nationally this week.