Opinion ID: 1379623
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: the final seventeen

Text: Candidates are prospects who are seriously considered, and who are interviewed for the job. As is the case in many hiring efforts, be it university president, football coach, or chief executive officer of a large business, those interested will already know who is being considered for the job. This, and the fact that the final candidates have an express desire for the job, should militate against maintaining confidentiality. Candidates who actively seek a job run the risk of their desire becoming public knowledge. Because they are candidates, they must expect that the public will, and should, know they are being considered. The public's legitimate interest in knowing which candidates are being considered for the job therefore outweighs the countervailing interests of confidentiality, privacy [and] the best interests of the state.... Id. Therefore, it was not error for the trial court to order the release of the final seventeen names.