Connecticut Bar Examining Committee v. FOI Commission

William Corvo, who failed the July 1983 bar exam, submitted an open-records request for various records relating to the bar exam, including the composition of the bar examining committee (the committee) (plaintiff), its scoring protocols, a list of the individuals who scored various portions of the exam, and the criteria used to determine their competency to score the exam. The committee denied the request, asserting that the committee’s function was adjudicative in nature and that it did not perform administrative functions within the meaning of the open-records law. The committee noted that the scope of the open-records law was limited to documents related to administrative actions and that because the committee was an arm of the court that was charged with adjudicating the applications of individual applicants, its documents were exempt. Corvo filed a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission (the commission) (defendant), and the commission ordered that the committee release the information. The commission broadly determined that all of the functions of the committee were administrative in nature and, therefore, the requested documents were subject to the open-records law. The committee appealed the commission’s determination to the court. The trial court affirmed the commission’s order without engaging in any analysis of the various types of records requested. The committee filed an appeal.