Court to weigh secrecy of PA Turnpike lawyers

(Harrisburg) -- The state Supreme Court is scheduling oral arguments for March in a case that pits the attorney general's office against the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission over disclosure of records in a three-year public corruption investigation. 

The turnpike commission wants the high court to overturn a decision by a grand jury supervisory judge who sided with prosecutors who want access to communications between the agency's lawyers and the commissioners or employees.

The commission argues that those exchanges are protected by lawyer-client privilege, while the attorney general's office says their disclosure is needed to keep the government honest.

Judge Barry Feudale's April ruling described the grand jury investigation as involving potential crimes related to "employment practices, procurement practices and the use of commission resources to conduct political activities."