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An exercise in freedom shouldn't put it at risk
© St. Petersburg Times Asking for a public record can be hazardous to your freedom in various parts of Florida. If you don't believe me, just ask Paul Curry. He was recently released from a state prison cell after serving 21/2 years of a 32-year sentence. Curry, 53, has moved to South Carolina to try to get on his financial feet after spending all of his assets in the legal fight that ended when the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach overturned his aggravated stalking conviction. Curry's repeated requests for public records of a neighbor might have been "weird and obsessive, with more than a tinge of spite," the court ruled, "but it did not qualify as a violation of the anti-stalking statute." His trouble began several years ago in Stuart when Curry moved into a house with a man whose cousin lived in a cottage nearby. When Curry's housemate died, the once friendly relationship with the cousin disintegrated and Curry moved to a new house. The cousin, Jacqueline DeCarlo, got an injunction against Curry, who began making public records requests for information about the woman and her property. He obtained at least 40 public records and then filed about 40 complaints against her with various government agencies for alleged violations of building codes and other regulations. Police and prosecutors filed criminal charges, and Curry found himself in a Martin County courtroom defending himself against aggravated stalking, a felony. There is no question that Curry was a pain in the neck to the woman, the police and the city's code enforcement officers. But was he stalking her? And does a man with no prior criminal record deserve to go to state prison for this kind of crime? The appellate court didn't think so. What Curry was doing was essentially taking advantage of his right to petition government for the redress of grievances, the court ruled. Complaints filed with administrative agencies and law enforcement are a protected constitutional right in this country. Curry had a constitutional right to ask government agencies to enforce the law, the court ruled in a unanimous opinion issued Feb. 27. Sometimes battles between neighbors over petty issues do turn into serious crimes. Sometimes frustrated law enforcement officers make stupid arrests just to end the uproar that keeps breaking out between familiar enemies. In Curry's case, the appellate court determined that there was no immediate threat to the personal safety of the woman who complained. Indeed, the mere complaint to government often removes the threat of trouble that can arise from an emotional, angry confrontation. In other words, the court was saying Curry might have been a pain in the neck, but as long as he merely asked for records and made complaints with no threat of harm to anyone he was within his rights. That's not much consolation for a man who spent more than two years in state prison. A similar charge was filed last year in Bay County against civic activist Lloyd Thomas for making excessive requests for public records pertaining to the city manager of Lynn Haven. The charge was dismissed by County Judge William A. Cooper. The judge said a person who wants to live in a city office and do nothing more than look at records is allowed to do exactly that. This use of Florida's anti-stalking law by prosecutors and police is clearly not what legislators intended when the law was passed in 1992. Some public officials don't like it very much when the public asks for public records. But Florida's law opening the door to records that reveal what government is doing with our tax money is essential to our survival. Without it we would be hard pressed to tell you when the train is off the track.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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Times columns today Sandra Thompson Lucy Morgan From the Times State news desk Lucy Morgan |
