Judge: James Brown documents to be made public
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A judge ordered South Carolina’s attorney general to turn over documents to a freelance journalist investigating the court fight over the estate of soul singer James Brown.
Sue Summer wants to see the records, which include the diary of the woman who said she was Brown’s wife when he died in 2006, an appraisal of Brown’s assets, and documents about how much trustees and attorneys are being paid from Brown’s estate. She requested them under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Earlier this month, Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith Jr. ruled against Attorney General Alan Wilson, who said he shouldn’t be forced to release the records because they are part of different lawsuits over Brown’s estate.
In his ruling, Griffith said Wilson’s position is “inconsistent with both the letter and spirit” of the state’s open records act, which only allows public records to be kept secret in very specific circumstances.
State prosecutors asked Griffith to reconsider his ruling. The diary is already under a court order not to be released, and other documents the judge ruled should be made public have also been put off limits, Wilson said in court filings.
The judge’s order gives Wilson until early next week to turn the records over.
He can argue some of them should be kept private under the law, but he will have to show them to Summer’s lawyer and the judge for a hearing.
Wilson said the process for his office to submit documents it thinks are confidential also doesn’t follow open records law.
In the reconsideration request, filed Wednesday, Wilson also asks the judge to delay the release of any documents for at least 30 days.
Summer said she was pleased with the order. She said part of the reason she keeps pursuing the story is she wants to make sure Brown’s dying wish to pay for scholarships for poor children in Aiken County and Augusta, Georgia, is done.
“It is past time for the secrecy that has surrounded the James Brown estate proceedings to come to an end. It is past time for the public to receive an answer to the question – after seven years, will Mr. Brown’s last wishes be honored in the State of South Carolina? The needy children Mr. Brown wanted to help with his education charity are waiting for an answer,” Summer said.