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ATLANTA The Federal Emergency Management Agency should give several Florida newspapers the addresses of 1.2 million hurricane aid recipients so the media can determine if government money was properly disbursed, a lawyer argued Tuesday.

The public interest in obtaining that information outweighs any potential privacy rights that the applicants have in keeping their addresses confidential, lawyer Charles Tobin told a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But FEMA lawyer Mark Stern argued that applicants for hurricane assistance are assured privacy when they apply, and that right should be protected.

It could take several months for the appeals court to decide whether a lower court judge erred in denying the addresses to The News-Press of Fort Myers, Fla., the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, and Florida Today of Melbourne, Fla.

Last year, a judge in Fort Myers ruled that FEMA did not have to provide the names or addresses of those claiming FEMA aid. The three newspapers’ publisher, Gannett Co., appealed the decision. Several major media companies, including The Associated Press, filed briefs in support of Gannett.

That judge’s decision differed from one in April by a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale who ruled that the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which is published by Tribune Co., was entitled to the addresses of hurricane aid recipients, but not the names.

On behalf of the papers that were denied the information, Tobin argued Tuesday that as a result of the more recent decision, his clients should be entitled to the addresses.

“We would like the ability to look house-to-house at the information as a statistical matter,” Tobin said.

Among other things, the papers want to see if any FEMA aid doled out following four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 was given to people who were not actually affected, Tobin said.

Several of the appeals court judges questioned whether access to the addresses could lead the media to obtain the recipients’ names and, therefore, cause an invasion of privacy. They also asked whether the recipients would be stigmatized by someone else knowing they received government aid.

Stern said the government is mainly concerned about privacy.

“You’re assured privacy when you make an application,” Stern said.